Cap-and-Trade
Today on Earthbeat we're discussing the cap-and-trade programs that are winding through the US Congress. The Lieberman-Warner bill is the first serious legislation designed to combat climate -- so why aren't environmentalists cheering? Host Daphne Wysham details the bill's specifics with Eric Pica of Friends of the Earth.
One dramatic result of cap-and-trade programs on carbon is they essentially give some polluters the 'right' to emit carbon. Economist Jim Barrett is the executive director of the group Redefining Progress. He explains why companies like the plan. On the telephone outlining the crucial California connection to this legislation is Jane Williams, the executive director of California Communities Against Toxics.
They're joined by Jessie Dowling and Brian Sloan, members of the group Rising Tide. They caution that cap-and-trade programs essentially privatize the sky. For more information about cap-and-trade legislation check out Carbon Trade Watch.
Organizing against cap-and-trade legislation is just one of the many actions that can be taken to force a transition from polluting energy to clean, renewable energy. Reverend Lennox Yearwood of the Hip Hop Caucus brings his toolbox of activitism into the Earthbeat studios.
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Photo by Hanneorla via Flickr.