What is nuclear energy and how it is obtained


etec-nm.com keyword stats



Most current MSN search phrases:

military nuclear power plant engineers salary
energy advantages of diesel power plant
disadvantages to nuclear power uranium
Most current Yahoo search phrases:

advantages of bataan nuclear power plant disadvantages of bataan nuclear power

A Changing Policy Climate

What a difference a year can make. In twelveindustry-wide emissions stay below a certain
months the center of gravity has strikinglylevel.
shifted in the debate over U.S. climate
change policy. Eleven states have developedBased on past successes with similar policies
mandatory greenhouse gas limits. Morein controlling SO2 and nitrogen oxide
corporations are calling for federal policy.emissions and early promising results from
And numerous studies and media stories,the European program, there is substantial
including the report this month from thesupport to create a national CO2
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel oncap-and-trade program in the United States.
Climate Change and Al Gore's movie, areAlmost all of thefederal climate bills
tipping  the  scale  of  public  opinion.propose this approach for power plants. Some
proposals, including one by Senators John
But the biggest difference is in Congress.McCain and Joe Lieberman and one by Senator
Since January, Capitol Hill has beenJeff Bingaman, would expand cap-and-trade
inundated with a wave of climate bills. Atbeyond power plants and include the
this point, a federal climate policy seemstransportation  sector.
inevitable. That's certainly what many
electric power company senior executivesRegardless of the sectors regulated, the
think. More than 80 percent of those polledquestion of how allowances are distributed
in CERA's most recent executive power surveyunder a cap-and-trade program looms large.
expect  a  mandatory  carbon  policy by 2015.Current programs have mostly followed the
precedent of the U.S. SO2 program by
But designing a U.S. climate change policy isallocating the majority of allowances
a big undertaking. It may be difficult todirectly to the regulated companies at no
reach a consensus in this Congress; however,cost. But this could change because the
a real debate is underway. At the very least,stakes  are  higher  with  CO2.
that debate will be an important prelude to
the 2008 presidential election and aThe government allocation of CO2 allowances
signalthat climate policy is moving to thewould be a major wealth transfer with the
front  and  center  of  U.S.  politics.annual value ranging anywhere from $5 to over
$200 billion. This has not been lost on
The Bush Administration's existing climateinterest groups and many are already staking
change policies emphasize research,out positions. Certainly regulated companies
technology development and public-privatewant to hedge future costs through allowance
partnerships such as the Asia-Pacificallocations. Consumer groups would like some
Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.of the allowances as a compensation for the
The new policy proposals would move to ahigher prices they expect to be paying. And
mandatory approach of regulating carbonsome advocates want to use allowances to
dioxide  (CO2)  emissions.subsidize investments in new, lower emission
technologies.
These bills seek to accelerate investments in
lower emitting fuels and technologies bySome proposals would avoid free allocations
setting  specific  emissions  targets.altogether and instead use auctions and in
the process create a major revenue source for
The obvious questions for setting thesethe federal government. That is how New York
emissions targets are, "What level ofplans to distribute the state's CO2
reductions will be required?" and "On whatallowances under the regional program being
timetable?" We will hear much discussionset up in the Northeast. It is likely that a
about these in the coming months. Buttherefederal allocationscheme will move away from
are other, less obvious questions that willany single approach to a blend of these
really chart the course for U.S. climatemechanisms  and  incentives.
policy.
Beyond designing how a domestic climate
To start, policymakers will need to decidechange policy will function, policymakers
any program's scope and framework- whatwill also have to define how a U.S. program
sectors will be affected and how. Theconnects with the policies of other nations.
electric power and transportation sectorsLinking a U.S. CO2 emissions market with
account for more than 70 percentof U.S. CO2other trading systems seems an obvious step.
emissions. So it's no surprise that they areRegulators in the Northeast and California
at the top of the list of sectors to control.are already thinking about how their programs
But how should these emissions be effectivelycould link with international markets. But
limited? Cap-and-trade is the frameworkthe real question comes down to how the
getting most of the attention right now, atUnited States should deal with major emitting
least  for  the  power  sector.countries  that  are  not  capping emissions.
First used to control sulfur dioxide (SO2)The United States accounts for over 20
emissions from U.S. power plants,percent of global CO2 emissions today, but
cap-and-trade has become the favorite ofthe global balance is changing. Due to rapid
academics, corporations and regulators. Ineconomic development, emissions in China and
January 2005, Europe adopted this approach toIndia have grown more than five times faster
controlling its CO2 emissions. Now overthan those of the United States since 1990.
11,000 powerplants and industrial facilitiesAnd CERA projects this trend to continue,
across Europe are covered under the Europeanwith  China  and
policy.
India contributing about half of the growth
And CO2 cap-and-trade programs are nowin global emissions over the next quarter
sprouting up in the United States. Thecentury.
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a
cap-andtrade program for power plants in 10The global emissions trends are daunting, and
northeastern states, is scheduled to start inthe effectiveness of any policy to curb them
2009. California is also drafting a similarwill depend on the collective actions of the
policy for in-state power companies set forinternational community. Nonetheless, it is
2012.very possible that the United States will
push forward with a domestic policybefore any
How does cap-and-trade work? It starts with anew international system is established.
government setting an emissions cap orGiven this reality, a number of proposals
ceiling for a group of sources. Forinclude measures to ensure that a U.S.
example,power plants-and then issuing a setprogram does not impose sudden cost increases
of "allowances," the currency of the program,that place its economy at a disadvantage to
equal to the overall size of the cap. Thethose  of  its  major  trade  partners.
requirements are really very simple:
companies comply by limiting their emissionsSuch economically-oriented approaches will
to  the  number  of  allowances  they  hold.likely be balanced by other voices asserting
that the U.S. needs to take the first step to
The innovation with cap-and-trade is that byencourage countries like China and India to
trading allowances,companies get to chooseadopt their own emissions policies. But
where to reduce their emissions. And inwhatever system emerges internationally,
circumstances where it's not economic, theyclimatechange will be a central issue in U.S.
can buy additional allowances in the openpolitics going into the 2008 presidential
market. Regardless of who buys andelection and beyond.
sellsallowances, the overall cap ensures that



1 A B 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80