US Coal Lobbyists Unveil Nightmarish Vision of Life After Cap-and-Trade Law

US businesses have spent tens of millions of dollars trying to kill a proposed law that would introduce European-style “cap-and-trade” rules on carbon emissions - even before the bill hit the floor of the Senate for discussion yesterday.

Lawmakers began a week-long debate of measures to tackle climate change amid predictions of dire consequences if carbon emissions were capped. Television viewers have been treated to visions of a dystopian future where Americans are forced to cook their breakfast over candles, or where thousands of jobs have been lost because of what one opponent called “economic disarmament” by the US.

Despite publicly supporting emissions reductions, the coal industry and electricity firms that use coal-fired plants - which stand to be most affected by new restrictions - have been among those funding a lobbying effort to derail the current proposals.

And they received the public backing of the Bush administration, which claim-ed cap-and-trade could reduce US GDP by as much as 7 per cent by 2050 and send petrol prices soaring. “As you can imagine, our opposition to this will be quite strong and we’ll be making these points throughout the week,” said Keith Hennessey, director of the President’s National Economic Council, at a White House forum. George Bush said he would veto the bill.

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America’s Power is running ads promoting cleaner coal as a solution to concerns about the US dependence on imported oil. The US Chamber of Commerce and a free market lobby group, The Club for Growth, meanwhile, has been running more arresting adverts, reflecting the grave concerns of many in the business community.

John Engler, president of the National Association of Manufacturers, said the proposals in the current bill amounted to “economic disarmament”, and The Club for Growth ads take up this theme, asking: “Are the unproven benefits of legislation worth the major job losses?”

The Chamber of Commerce commercials feature suburban families unable to heat their homes, wearing scarves indoors, cooking over candles, and running - rather than driving - to work. It asks: “Is this really how Americans want to live?”

More: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/us-coal-lobbyists-unveil-nightmarish-vision-of-life-after-capandtrade-law-838978.html
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My hope is that there are some Mme DeFarge's out there keeping track of who these people are for future reference...

:scared:

or however those Joni Mitchell song lyrics go......