Kudos to Shuler for responsible vote on energy measure

Kudos to Shuler for responsible vote on energy measure

Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville, is catching a lot of flak from some corners of Western North Carolina for his vote in favor of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, commonly referred to as cap-and-trade.

Now, we don't agree with Mr. Shuler on a number of issues, having parted ways on issues such as his votes on domestic spying legislation. We also wonder if he didn't get played like a fiddle recently by the Sri Lankan government.

But on this important energy and environmental vote, Shuler gets nothing but praise.

As a nation we have known since the 1970s that we are on an energy path that is unsustainable and poses serious security risks. Oil is running out, and many of the sources we receive it from are unstable at best. At worst, we are sending money to some of the very same people who would just as soon see us dead.

Our national strategy to cope with these facts has, for decades, been little more than to hope they would somehow go away.

That has not happened. And so we ride out energy shocks like the one WNC experienced just last year, complain for awhile that something should be done and then settle back into our routines.

Well, something has been done.

H.R. 2454 promises to reduce the federal deficit, create jobs, reduce pollution and put the nation on a path to energy security.

It also will take an important step to curbing global warming. While there is debate over global warming, a lot of it is being generated by groups profiting from the warming.

The warming issue is often presented as something that will happen far away and far in time, but much data seems to be indicating the problem may be worse than feared with implications that could happen much sooner. As to near, the implications are manifold. Slight warming could wipe out WNC's Christmas tree industry; more warming could mean you'd need to carry a scuba tank if you wanted to see the Outer Banks.

Rep. Shuler said, "I voted in favor of H.R. 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act, because it is consistent with two of my highest priorities, protecting God's creation and reducing our national debt. This bill gives Americans, as individuals, companies and communities, the opportunity to start tackling this challenge so that our children will have one fewer of our problems to bear."

That's a nice change from the kick-the-can-down-the-road approach. And there's plenty of evidence cap-and-trade can work.

Because it has.

During the term of President George H.W. Bush, a cap-and-trade program to curb SO2 emissions that cause acid rain was greeted by critics as … well, as the sinister economy-killer this bill is being painted as (by essentially the same factions). The costs in higher utility bills to consumers caused by preventing more lakes from becoming lifeless pools as acidic as lemon juice was pegged at $5.5 billion annually and $7.1 billion per year by the end of this decade.

As it turned out, utility costs actually dropped, as did SO2 emissions. The Congressional Budget Office in 2003 said the program had "the largest quantified human health benefits — over $70 billion annually — of any major federal regulatory program implemented in the last 10 years, with benefits exceeding costs by more than 40:1."

Rep. Shuler made the correct vote. He's catching heat for it.
Ironically, the rest of us may catch a lot less heat — literally — in the future because of that vote.