tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199410.post8721511248688395415..comments2023-12-27T08:02:59.927-05:00Comments on Energy Outlook: The President's Climate Plan Hinges on Natural GasGeoffrey Styleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18047970229068397492noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199410.post-68220291234178349372013-07-03T11:12:03.069-04:002013-07-03T11:12:03.069-04:00Geoff,
Trust me, I don't. However, it has bee...Geoff,<br /><br />Trust me, I don't. However, it has been 4 years since the endangerment finding.<br /><br />Congress considered including CO2 under the CAA, both initially and when it was later amended, and decided not to include CO2 under the Act.<br /><br />Ed Reidnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199410.post-42191285903864738052013-07-03T09:07:08.054-04:002013-07-03T09:07:08.054-04:00Ed,
Don't underestimate the pressure on this a...Ed,<br />Don't underestimate the pressure on this administration to set a National Ambient Air Quality Standard for CO2 at 350 ppm or less. That would make the whole world a non-attainment zone for the next century and force increasingly strict controls on US CO2 emissions, which as long as developing countries increase theirs would have no <i>control</i> over the ambient CO2 level--an open loop with no feedback. <br /><br />This is the sort of silliness we breed when we call CO2 a pollutant and our politicians routinely talk about it in terms of "clean air" and "health consequences." I don't subscribe to the "more CO2 is better" school, but the court was wrong to classify it as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. It's something different, and it demands its own category if we're going to tackle it in a rational way. Of course for an administration that sees every decision first in political terms, this is the horse they've been given, and they will ride it.Geoffrey Styleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18047970229068397492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199410.post-75174538419895003552013-07-03T08:56:46.721-04:002013-07-03T08:56:46.721-04:00
Unexpectedly? With what amounts mandated increase...<br />Unexpectedly? With what amounts mandated increases in gas burned for power, plus new demand from other sectors, how can prices do anything but go up? Even if the supply curve is relatively flat, as seems likely, the pressure will be all upward until the next recession. <br /> 9:42 PM Geoffrey Styleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18047970229068397492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199410.post-9189574140424840342013-07-02T20:52:21.606-04:002013-07-02T20:52:21.606-04:00And so what will happen if the price of natural ga...And so what will happen if the price of natural gas unexpectedly increases?<br /><br />Guess you won't mind paying gas and electric bills 100% higher after all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6199410.post-61070042578358888532013-07-02T10:02:48.708-04:002013-07-02T10:02:48.708-04:00"Instead of solving the politics of climate c..."Instead of solving the politics of climate change, the President's plan could deepen the polarization that already exists on this issue."<br /><br />Our President has demonstrated a awe inspiring capability to "deepen the polarization" on a wide range of issues. However, he has not done so alone, but rather with the assistance of his cabinet secretaries and agency administrators, in concert with a highly politicized Congress.<br /><br />I believe it will be important to focus on what the Administration does, rather than what the President says. For example, despite the President's verbal focus on natural gas, the Administration has recently reduced access to federal lands for oil and gas exploration.<br /><br />I believe we can consider ourselves fortunate that, while EPA could establish a CO2 cap & trade regulation, it cannot impose a carbon tax. However, I would note that, while EPA produced an endangerment finding several years ago, it has not yet produced the NAAAQS required by the Clean Air Act after such a finding. Establishing an NAAQS for a globally well-mixed trace gas could be a very interesting process. Implementation could be a laugh-a-minute experience.<br /><br />I anticipate a proliferation of "sue and settle" efforts as part of the unfolding process. That is certainly a prescription for higher cost, comand and control regulation. <br /><br />I also see some black humor in the growing sales of coal which cannot be used in the US to China, etc. The environmental community is already actively opposing the construction of new and expanded coal export facilities.Ed Reidnoreply@blogger.com