Carbon is a gas that permeates societies much deeper than sulfur dioxide or even nitrogen oxide. Any program must be managed carefully for carbon credits to protect our environment and prevent other negative consequences. Some argue that relatively cheap technologies such as coal scrubbers and “low sulfur” content coal made it easier for a cap and trade to work for acid rain in the U.S. than it will for carbon. There is little doubt that changing how humans affect the environment through carbon is more tenuous and politically charged than other pollutants.
Organizations such as the Institute for Energy Research, which Sourcewatch states “advocates positions on environmental issues which happen to suit the energy industry…”, perpetuates fear of economic doom and reasons why carbon credits will not protect our environment. Some of these fears, are at least somewhat legitimate, however they simplify these issues to fit their agenda. For example their website states a cap and trade will harm the poor, even citing a Congressional Budget Office study that says so. What it fails to mention is the same study states that in a scenario where allowances were sold by the government and revenues were used “…to pay all households an equal lump-sum rebate…” income for households in the “lowest quintile” would increase by an average of 1.8% in 2010." The Waxman/Markey proposed allowance allocation (part of the current proposed carbon cap and trade bill) accounts for this stating, “15% of allowances will be auctioned each year and the proceeds of these allowances will be distributed to low- and moderate-income families to protect them from other energy cost increases.”
The stakes are high for both humans and other living things on Earth. U.S. culture demands we frame even how humans affect the environment in terms of economics, thus we engineer market based systems to mitigate these effects. I argue that through energy efficiency measures, and ample government support for clean energy technologies, coupled with ending subsidies for dirty energy, it’s plausible that carbon credits can work just as well as the acid rain program. Americans are both ready for and have the innovation for an energy revolution. There is no silver bullet for addressing negative human effects on the environment, though carbon credits may be the silver casing holding the buckshot.