Cap and Trade has become the latest 'hot topic'...
Love it, hate it, understand it, disagree with it - whatever your take is on it - it's here to stay.
Last night, I spoke with somebody on this very topic, and their take on it was very.... well - harsh! They saw "Cap-and-Trade" as another way for big government to reach into their back pocket, and help themselves to another tax.
Is it a tax? Is it a premium? All good questions, but let's look at it this way...
...there are two 'corporate' ways to solve an immediate problem/crisis/challenge:
1) The Government
2) Private Sector
As we all know, governments are not efficient at quick solutions. To be fair - governments were designed this way, in order to protect the taxpayer from potential abuse, which explains the myriad of checks, double-checks, checks-and-balances, approvals, votes, and debates were created.
Private sector, however, is/are governed by market conditions. Was money made? Lost? Are costs up? Down? Virtually all large public endeavours ever created were initiated and completed by private sector, and later - taken over by a governmental agency (i.e. the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC, "Big Ben" in London, and ALL airports around the world!)
So, in the pursuit of the most efficient way to reduce emissions, fossil fuel dependency, and GHG's - private sector will invaribly lead the way with solutions. To be sure, governments around the world must agree on the ground rules, but Cap-and-Trade works well when PRIVATE SECTOR IS ALLOWED TO BE CREATIVE, INVENTIVE, AND MAKE MONEY.
Which brings me to the title of this blog: Mobile Emission Reduction Credit (MERC) potential...
One-third of the GHG problems are from mobile sources. The mobile sector gets the lions' share of the press, yet the smallest amount of resources thrown at it. Why?
The answer is simple: too much trouble tracking down the myriad of small, portable, polluting powerplants. Better to pursue a non-moving coal plant - it makes an easier tarket when the governmental shooting starts.
However, some recently unleashed creativity, coupled with the latest status of Chrysler, GM, and most of the global automotive manufacturers has profered up new ways to solve this challenge....
AND - make money!
More soon, in my next blog...
