There’s a lot of discussion about whether the Waxman-Markey bill will do enough to curb greenhouse gases.

Their legislation proposes cap and trade. If you remember, sulfur dioxide (SO2), also known to cause acid rain, works on this system. A certain number of “permits” would be given or sold to companies. Those companies that are more energy efficient, that have GHG controls in place, would not need all their permits. They’d then have a right to sell or auction them to the more polluting companies.

In the beginning, permits will be free or next-to-free. So the biggest polluters (the ones using the most permits) will most likely have to pay first. As time passes, the permits will be more limited, thus becoming more expensive/valuable.

For companies, the question will then become: Do we pay for these permits or start investing in GHG controls? The onus falls on the corporation, but, of course, they pass their costs along to the consumer. (Right now, estimates for increases in our utility bills are rather modest. A review done by the Marshall Institute puts the additional cost of electric at 5-15% by 2015.)

Our government can generate revenue by selling our auctioning off these permits. Some policy experts believe that the money should be given to taxpayers to help offset the cost of their energy bills.

I know that sounds good, but really, it doesn’t force consumers to alter their behavior or reduce their usage. A more fitting use of the money would be invest it in R&D, renewable energy facilities or in developing a national energy grid. There are tons of better uses.

However, a carbon tax might work better. More on that later….

Gas prices always rise before a holiday. They rise with the threat of a hurricane. They rise when someone sneezes. This article here notes that, while gas prices have risen 15% over the past few weeks and will continue to rise over the summer-they will never reach the $5 highs of 2008. That’s too bad.

How will we change consumer demand and driving habits with cheap gasoline? Americans will continue to want large, gas-guzzling vehicles. City planners will continue to design sprawled cities. People will not want to ride rail.

Last year, when gas prices were at their peak, we, here in Texas, had record numbers riding the rail. We had people asking for more rail. Now, we’re back to our old habits.

How quickly things change, yet stay the same.

This NYT article says that cheap gas and bargains means that consumers will be driving more than last year.

Do you think that America can make significant changes if gas is still cheap? This article here talks about increasing gas taxes in Texas. (Written by a conservative think tank.) They believe Texans already pay too much, and that money for roads and rail should come through a re-examination for waste in state and local transportation budgets.

Every few weeks, I disappear for a bit to do some work. This time I have some training to do, too. But I’ll be back soon…Peace.

Ironically, we’ve been having a heated debate on another post here about minorities in America. Now, Obama has announced his choice for supreme court: Sonia Sotomayor. She’d be the first Hispanic to sit on the court, and the third female.

It is appropriate given the number of Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Sotomayor is considered a “moderate-liberal,” which would bring balance to the court. It is unlikely that Republicans would block her nomination and risk alienating their Hispanic onstituents.

Sotomayor could be confirmed before the end of the summer.

On an earlier post, we discussed Daniel and his mom, Collen Hauser. After reading this article, it seems that Daniel’s mom was just scared. Her initial reaction was one of fear, and she was trying to do what was best for her son.

You and I may not agree with her, but one thing is clear: she was not being abusive. There are parents who neglect their kids, who emotionally and physically abuse them. Those are the parents we need to follow. They should be in the media, so that society can watch them. Daniel Hauser’s mother? She’s not a bad parent. She’s just a scared mother. I’m a mother. I can relate.

This case also shows us that, when it comes to our kids, we do not have the exclusive right to decide for them in certain aspects (medical treatment, school). Yet we never have. We never have had the exclusive right to parent in any way we want–we are limited by what society deems right. For instance, we can’t allow our five-year-olds to drink beer or our ten-year-olds to work at McDonald’s. This is just another application of that same idea: a minor child with a serious illness must receive the best, most appropriate care available.

Daniel will remain in the home as long as the parents agree to the court-ordered treatment for their son.

I love this page, sponsored by Harvard’s school of gov’t.

It lists 150 easy ways to build social capital and make the world a better place. It has some great ideas for kids, too.

Practice peace.

If you’re on the fence about the death penalty, you should read this column about Troy Davis.

I’m personally against the death penalty. But I understand our government allows it. Yet it seems wrong for America to murder a man when there is doubt of his guilt.

For those of you with kids, thought you might like to know that the Princeton Review offers a free “National Testing Day,” along with study materials. On a Saturday morning, your kid can take the test, just like the official SAT (or ACT), and receive a detailed score report. The only catch is you have to sit through a two-hour info session. I didn’t find it that bad, though, since they only handed out Princeton Review sales material but never actually talked about it. The class was more about test-taking tips and a Q&A session.

There’s no age restriction, so if your child is a middle-schooler and wants to take the test, he can, too. For more info, see the Princeton Review site.

Snakes. They’re unfairly maligned. I have friends come over who will not rest until they see that our snakes are in their tanks.

We have ball pythons, which are very docile snakes. They don’t need to be walked, brushed and fed two times every day. They don’t jump on you and scratch your legs. They don’t slobber. You feed them once every couple of weeks (and clean up their mess about that often, too). Easy, easy, easy. For kids who have asthma and allergies, there’s no dander either.

Occassionally, the snakes do get loose. And they’re getting big, so I admit that I worry a teensy bit about one being hungry and on the prowl. After all, my youngest only weighs 62 pounds.

But they never go far. Like tonight. When we got home, we found my youngest son’s snake had worked the cage loose and was under the dresser, not far from his cage. They’re not like dogs–they won’t run as far and as fast as they can. They stay close, usually in a dark place.

I bet some folks who started reading this didn’t make it this far. Snakes gross a lot of people out. As I said, they are poor maligned creatures. But they make great pets.