Posted by
Dave Smith on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 6:02:03 PM
I know I've asked this question repeatedly, but I still haven't gotten an answer --
any answer. So, in response to
this column in the Chronicle by Mr. J. Wayne Leonard, Chairman and CEO of Entergy Corp, I sent the following letter:
re: "Cap-and-trade legislation deserves industry support
In
his op-ed column on the cap-and-trade legislation recently passed by
the House of Representatives and currently being debated in the Senate,
Mr. J. Wayne Leonard claims that the cap-and-trade bill is "a good
start" and the "best bill I've seen". I'll offer him the same question
I've asked other advocates of this program: how
much will it lower global temperatures? 1 deg F? 10 deg F? 0.1 deg F?
And if this is a "good start", how much more legislation is necessary
in the future?
Mr. Leonard also mentions that carbon emissions
have a
cost. What is the specific cost associated with those emissions, and
how do they
relate to the cap-and-trade plan? How much cost per degree temperature
reduction is, in his opinion, an efficient trade-off? I am willing to
bet that these are questions Mr. Leonard would expect to ask before
making any investment or major policy change as leader of Entergy
Corp. Why should we expect less from our government than Entergy's
stockholders expect from Mr. Leonard?
Until
he,
and other advocates, can answer these questions, I find it hard to
understand how this bill can be considered "the best way" forward.
Sincerely,
Dave Smith
Houston, TX