Western Citizen

Little to nothing has been reported with only a few glowing press releases circulated. Though the American Farmland Trust seems to have the goods on Stabenow’s not yet publicly accessible bill:

1) Ensure agriculture is not subject to an emissions cap;

2) Ensure USDA promulgates the rules and administers any agricultural offset program;

3) Create clear authority so projects partially-funded with government money are eligible for credits, and ensures stackable environmental credits from projects are recognized;

4) Create clearer mechanisms to recognize producers and systems already in place in voluntary carbon markets;

5) Clarify various technical requirements for carbon sequestration projects;

6) Create a comprehensive and well-funded government carbon conservation program for producers who are ineligible or unable to participate in a carbon offset market; and

7) Provide supplemental funding for various programs to jumpstart renewable energy projects.

Curiously, the Mother Nature Network took a much sunnier approach than expected in its blog post, In Green Acres: From vacant land to revenue source:

Landowners, farmers, and cities struggling to make ends meet may soon have access to a new revenue source thanks to the Clean Energy Partnership Act. Under the bill, businesses not able to immediately reform their production and manufacturing practices to reduce greenhouse gases would be able to buy credits from farmers and owners of forests — places where carbon is stored and not emitted into the atmosphere.

But the reality is the larger global warming bill authored by Sens. John Kerry and Barbara Boxer is dead on arrival without serious concessions to a motley crew of opponents from Blue Dog Democrats, liberal and conservative rural and rust belt politicians and the powerful ag and manufacturing lobbies who through their own dithering and a blistering recession are unprepared to significantly modify their carbon-producing ways any time soon.

That includes Stabenow whose state’s manufacturing industry has been crushed in the recession while agribusiness across the nation is taking a hit as credit markets have dried up through the foreseeable future. Michigan is second only to California in its agricultural diversity which includes sugar refining, a dangerous and environmental hazardous industry marred by 281 combustible dust explosions and chemical accidents and more than 800 deaths and serious injuries in recent years.

Which raises the question: As smart entrepreneurs use economic crisis to reinvent their businesses wouldn’t this be an ideal opportunity for lawmakers to push long-delayed environmental improvements in two of the more significant U.S. economic sectors that contribute disproportionally to global pollution and worker fatalities?

Meet Congress. The innovation killer.

Categories: Energy, Environment, Featured, Issues, Montana, Politics, States | Tags: agriculture, American Clean Energy and Security Act, cap and trade, carbon emissions, Clean Energy Partnerships Act, Debbie Stabenow, Max Baucus, S.B. 2729, U.S. Senate