Well, on Tuesday, four senators proposed a bill that would create a new federal bureaucracy to oversee the growing multi-billion dollar carbon trading market.
Just what we need, right? Another monolithic bureaucracy, this one designed to help solve a problem the existence of which is greatly questioned.
As Duke University reported Tuesday (emphasis added):
Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and John Warner (R-Va.) introduced a bill to minimize negative economic impacts to consumers and industry of the transition to a lower-carbon economy while achieving critical environmental goals. The bill is designed to be incorporated into broader climate change legislation.
The measures would be implemented by a Carbon Market Efficiency Board, which would oversee what is estimated to be a multi-billion dollar emissions permit trading market. The board would operate much like the Federal Reserve Board, providing information on price and low-emission technology investment trends to Congress and the public, and it would employ cost-relief measures when a market correction is needed.
For those wondering why the Duke citation, it's because this proposal went almost totally ignored by conventional media outlets, and the University is connected to the bill: "The plan was developed with analysis provided by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions of Duke University."
Why might media have ignored this? Well, one possibility is that regardless of how green the press appear today, the new federal bureaucracy they're looking to back at this point in time is universal healthcare.
On the other hand, maybe they're concerned that too much coverage of the issue will kill it much as what happened to Hillary Clinton's healthcare proposal in 1993, especially given some of the similarities.
Yet, as this bill seeks to grease the wheels for stricter global warming regulations, it is nonetheless curious it went so ignored:
Concerns about containing costs have been a stumbling block for the passage of legislation to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The new proposal focuses on providing the market with flexibility to help reduce costs. It offers two measures to relieve excessively high costs that would indicate a scarcity of low-carbon options.
Regardless of why this went virtually unnoticed, not everyone was thrilled by this proposal. As reported by Greenwire (subscription required, emphasis added):
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) offered a more critical perspective on the cost plan. "Constructing new federal bureaucracies like the proposed 'Carbon Market Efficiency Board' will do nothing to alter the climate or solve the economic issues," said Inhofe, the ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Inhofe cited Massachusetts Institute of Technology climate scientist Richard Lindzen, who said in March, "Controlling carbon is a bureaucrat's dream. If you control carbon, you control life."
Makes sense. Not only that, when bureaucracies are created to save the public money, it ends up being very expensive.
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
