Idaho has no coal-fired power plants, notorious spewers of the toxic element mercury (which is a natural “contaminant” of coal). The emissions cap and trade program is a pollution control method designed for states with sources of atmospheric mercury (mostly coal plants). If Idaho were to opt into the program, that is basically saying “build coal plants in Idaho.”
One might ask, why shouldn’t Idaho help bear the burden of mercury emissions? The primary reason is that Idaho is already suffering greatly from mercury blowing north from the Canadian owned gold pits in Nevada, which in total produce mercury emissions equivalent to scores of coal plants, according to some estimates.
Story in the Magic Valley Times News. By Nate Poppino
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is President of the Western Watersheds Project.
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I have no use whatever for these “cap and trade” scams. Here in the north east, we have had such a scam running that was supposed to solve our acid lake problem. It simply has not done that. All it’s done is made a few generating utilities that much more cash rich, and allowed the polluters to buy the “right” to continue to kill our lakes!
The scientifically impossible I do right away
The spiritually miraculous takes a bit longer