Why a 'cap and trade' pollution plan won't work

Efficiency, conservation, a carbon/pollution assessment and distributed generation of clean energy are the best ways to cut our carbon footprint, not 'cap and trade'.

TUCSON -- I am an ecologist who's worked my entire adult life in the environment and energy sector.

I'm also a supporter of President Obama, but his proposed cap-and-trade plan for reducing greenhouse gases will not cut pollution quickly enough to prevent devastating global warming climate change, according to an expert analysis recently released by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The broad political support for cap-and-trade scheme is rooted in its biggest flaw – that an incremental approach designed to keep prices for carbon-based energy low will be insufficient to accomplish a quick shift in energy sources.

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