Cap and trade is rubbish
Just tax all fossil fuels and distribute the resulting revenue as a dividend to all citizens (to offset the negative externalities of pollution, and the increased cost of fuel). This is morally justified because the air we breathe belongs to all of us, and anyone who fouls it should have to compensate others. The tax rate could be adjusted to meet specific targets (like whatever the cap would have been in cap and trade). This avoids giving big polluters a windfall in free permits, and avoids a all the loopholes in phony offset accounting.
Regardless of HOW you burn coal, you're still releasing roughly the same amount of CO2 into the atmosphere per pound of carbon burned. Carbon Capture and Storage is still a pipe dream wanna-be-boondoggle. Pressurized caves full of CO2 will inevitably release into the environment over geologic time. If we ever finish digging up and burning all the fossil fuels on the planet, the climate will be fucked regardless of the speed or manner in which it's done.
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Sounds like a go-wait, did you say taxes?!?!?!?!
SLAVERY!
TYRANNY!
SOCIALISM!
GLOBAL WARMING IS A LIBERAL HOAX!
Actually, I agree. I'm not picky about carbon tax vs. cap & trade, but I think a key way to help sell it to people would be for the taxes collected to be put into tax credits for everyone.
Liberals should probably wave something like "if you want to abolish the income tax some day, you need to get behind environmental impact taxes" in front of Republicans and see what happens.
It's probably the only way you'd convince the left to give up progressive income taxes and go towards a consumption tax.
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