Clintons Earn $109 Million: Leftists Remain Belligerently Naive

The beauty of the normal curve is that it describes populations that are normally distributed. Just as we are unlikely to find adults that are only 18 inches tall, we are just as unlikely to find adults that are 18 feet tall. What is likely, that given an adult is tall, that we find his tallness most likely to be found within the first standard deviation represented by the dark blue area above.

Your height is something that you more or less have no control over. If you have a normal gestation, normal childhood, eat, drink and exercise normally, and have no genetic disposition to extreme shortness or tallness, we can expect you to be normally tall.

When it comes to political opinions I believe that one can expect to find normal beliefs extant within the general population as well. Unlike those who value political speech for its ability to rise above the fray, I value political speech for what it reveals in shared political belief. Being stuck, more or less, in Oregon, we tend to view political speech through the distorted lens of our sources of information. If you rely upon the internet for your information, you tend to rely upon those websites that magnify and reinforce the political views you have adopted. If you rely upon the mainstream media sources of CBS, NBC, ABC and the newspaper, you're stuck between accepting what is being given you as information or screening that information by comparing what is being asserted as true to what you hold in your political beliefs to be true. Those bits of news information that magnify and reinforce your political views tend to be viewed as true. Those that tend not to reinforce your political views tend to be viewed as false.

We normally attend to the process of falsification completely unaware of the intelligence we display in the doing. The value of formal education is in the benefit it provides when one attempts this process. There are mis-steps that can take place that can lead one to falsify incorrectly. Of, within the context of the statistician, false falses. It seems silly, almost. But it's important to realize that false falses are possible. And it leads one to ask whether or not certainty is possible.

When asked, I offer DesCartes statement, "I think, therefore I am." It is a wonderful statement because it cannot be falsified. For those who have attempted to falsify this statement--one of the most egregious was the example of President Clinton asking the question of what est est?--it lies in its irreductibility as true. The importance of this statement is rarely taught, but as I indicated above, its operability is proven on a moment to moment basis for all of us. No matter what you hear, or from what source, you are constantly using your irreductible existense to falsify all of the ideas with which you come into contact. If you don't "false" it, you agree with it.

This sets up a certain conundrum.

The role of formal education is to provide you with a model, upon which you can rely for making decisions. The advantage of an education steeped in mathematics, philosophy or languages is that you're forced to make decisions as to what is true. (I've switched from using "falsification", the test of what is true or false because I want to let you focus on the product of the process, rather than the process itself.)

Within the dark blue area of the curve above would be the percentage of people able to tell you that it's raining when it's raining, and that you can reliably depend on this observation to be true. The study of languages is important in this regard: the words you choose to interpret from, say French into English, will determine the verbs used to describe the phenomenom that is being observed. The German "nassen" may be true, but "regnan" might be better.

It is sad that languages, mathematics and philosophy aren't emphasized in our schools. The kids have English classes and math classes, but if you were to dip into your local high school and look at the work product of most children--not the exceptional ones--you would be amazed at how low the standard for each of these subjects is for successful completion of studies. In a recent meeting with local employers the disdain with which we hold recent high school graduates is universal. Want a quick test? Advertise a job opening. Then, look at the completed application forms.

Fortunately for us, there is a truthful nascency in our existence. Homo sapiens is by defintion able to think. (Of course, we write the definitions.) Life, nature, is a cruel teacher. We learn not to touch the stove when it's hot at an early age. A lesson rarely needing replication. Just in this way we learn many other things as being true, without regard for our attempts (akin to sophistry) to falsify them.

What role does naivety in political thought? What is the value of being a political naif?

It is at once a contradiction. It describes someone who either doesn't know that language has meaning, or it describes someone to whom other people's language has no meaning. No one is so naive that when, upon opening a can of peas discovers potatoes, wouldn't know that something was awry. The label doesn't fit. Things aren't right. The political naif is therefore an affectation. A choice. Peas are peas. Potatoes are potatoes.

At this point I ask you to point out all of the logical inconsistencies that exist in this brief missive. Where I'm wrong. Where I mis-spoke. Even, where I mis-spelled. I am not naive, and I don't edit these posts. Once I'm done, it's done. (Love blogging. No teachers/editors.)

Because at this point I want you to think about the revelation that former President Clinton and his wife, Senator Clinton, have earned more than $109-million in the past seven years. Two politicians. $109-million.

When I step outside to get into my new Clinton '88, no, hold it. The Clintons don't make cars.

When I go into the kitchen to grab a loaf of Clinton Bread...no, once again, the Clintons don't make bread.

In truth, neither you nor I have any recollection of either Clinton doing much of anything, other than writing books. And to be fair, books were written. (The complete breakdown on earnings for the Clintons can be viewed at TaxProf Blog.) And before we look further into their earnings, I posit one fact for your consideration before moving on: the Clinton charitable donations. The Clintons claimed $10.2 million in charitable donations. That money went to a foundation "run by the Clintons that has given away only about half of the money they put into it, and most of that was last year, after Mrs. Clinton declared her candidacy." ("Clintons Made $109 Million in Last 8 Years", New York Times, April 5, 2008.)

Now, the book deal. Who wouldn't want a book penned by Senator Clinton? Who wouldn't want a book penned by President Clinton? Looking at the dark blue area under the curve above, I would say, normally, not many people would want a book penned by either the President or the Senator. Even my Leftist friends don't own these books. And yet a book penned by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, which netted him a one-dollar advance, was cause for his eventual decision to step down as Speaker. (For a further examination of the Speaker, you can view a hit-piece here. Warning:zeitgeist.)

An accurate assessment of the book deal is available at Accuracy In Media (AIM). I know, I know...Accuracy In Media, isn't that a member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy? I believe it true that you are more likely to hear from a representative of AIM on Fox than you are on CBS, but we've already had a short dispositive about the sourcing of information that you and I receive. And our innate ability to suss out truth and fiction.

So, I recommend that you read the AIM assessment of the Clinton book deal and ask yourself if the information being provided can be falsified. I know that you can do it. And, if you'd like to check, you have the wealth of information that is the internet at your fingertips.

During this political season the keywords seem to be "Hope" and "Change". As a conservative, I don't value change for change's sake. I think it usually is wrongheaded although sufficiently well-intentioned.

In the last recititation of political wit--during the 2006 elections--the keywords were something like "culture of corruption". As proof we had e-mails from a congressman. And, uh, what else again?

You can't assert that the truth is unimportant to you. Even when you don't want to be truthful, you give yourself away. (Having children is the greatest evidence of one's built-in truth detector.) So I'm not asking you to give up your socialist beliefs. The beliefs you necessarily hold as a political naif. I'm not going to argue that other people than you can make better decisions as to what, where and when we should invest in this or that technology. In fact, I'm going to grant that socialists are on the right course when they believe that others are better qualified for making the decisions necessary for navigating through the exigencies of every day life. It's sorta self-defining.

What I do ask you to do is ask yourself about corruption. Notice here that I haven't yet mentioned anything about the fund-raising scandals of the Clinton legacy. I don't think that's important.

What I do think is important is that you look at the evidence and ask yourself whether you accept it in order to further your political whimsey, or if you can't accept it because it simply reeks of falsity.

One more link to ponder. The value of Wiki for me lies in it's floury approach to definition. It is what you make of it. But within its generalized contradictions, there is an essential dilimma within each specific human being. Regardless of training, regardless of want or need, we are essentially limited to what we can believe by what is authentic. The real deal. To come to another conclusion would be to admit your own belligerent naivete.

UPDATE: Another Oregon guy shares his views here. (Patrick Joubert Conlon.)

UPDATE: A Texas guy shares here. (Rhymes With Right.)

UPDATE: A North Dakota guy shares here, with a comparison to Senator Obama. (SayAnything.)

UPDATE: A guy from California, but who is currently in Washington here. (Roger L. Simon.)

Some Pigs Are More Equal, Because It's The Agenda, Stupid!

When I read Orwell, he asserted that certain pigs were "more equal". Who cares? It's just a book.

The Google Pic above is a great example of this equality (click to enlarge). Or, as the New York Times asserts, this is an example of hiding in plain sight.

I wrote about the Governor's plan to change the industrial landscape of Oregon through the imposition of Carbon Laws here. No where, at least that I can see, are proposed rules that would make Google responsible for any new carbon costs. Even though Harper's suggests that Google's new plant will consume 103 megawatts of electricity...enough to power 82,000 homes.

When I was a kid, television stations used to sign off. Yeah, that was a long time ago. Long before the introduction of the ubiquitous InfoMercial. It cost television companies real cash to keep the transmitter on. Now those costs are being covered by hucksters promoting all sorts of necessary conveniences.

But, when I was a kid, they would sign off. And one of my favourite sign-offs involved the nightly convocation of the "High Flight", by RCAF Flight-Lieutenant John Gillespie Magee Jr.(1922-1941), as a paean to our United States Air Force, complete with pictures of American jets covering the skies over our country.

Now, it seems, our Governor has slipped the surely bonds of Constitutional law and common sense. And no one seems to care. The Governor's foray into international politics is referred to here. And how complete our transition from having a state government concerned with providing for the necessary police powers of a state, to having a global agenda is referenced in today's press release from our state's Department of Human Services.

"Awareness of climate change and the danger to our planet is growing," said Mel Kohn, M.D., state epidemiologist in the Oregon Department of Human Services. "We want to draw attention to the human health consequences, which are likely to be substantial even here in Oregon, and how public health can help address the challenges of climate change.

"Just a few examples of health effects are heat stress due to rising temperatures, injuries from flooding and wild fires, respiratory diseases and allergies related to increased air pollution, or changes in where we see vector-borne diseases such as malaria and hantavirus," Kohn said. "

This is the same health service that has identified 75,000 problem gamblers--read addicted to the Oregon Lottery--and 38,000 youngsters with a serious alcohol problem.

So it's reassuring, I suppose, that our state's Human Services department can begin looking into the problems associated with Man Made Global Warming. Like malaria. I can't even begin to talk about the problems we had here in Oregon following the last malaria outbreak.

Common sense has taken flight from Oregon. We have real, clearly discernable problems facing families in Oregon. As a monitor for the health of its state's residents, Human Services should be recommending changes in law to the Oregon legislature. The legislature should be looking at how it can help to solve these problems. In the instance of problem gambling, ending the Oregon Lottery would be a good start.

But the Governor is using the non-mandated portions of lottery revenue to fund his schemes to make Oregon an environmental utopia. Because markets won't spend money on things this man dreams up.

Want more kids to have appropriate health care? End the Oregon Lottery. It's not a religious issue, it's a common sense issue. There is a reason why the Oregon Lottery places its machines in bars. Hmm, let's see. Alcohol abuse a problem? Check. Gambling a problem? Check. So, let's put them together and see what happens! Weeeeeeee.

Oh, and the Governor is giving your energy to a big company that fits his agenda. Is it fair? Is it right? And why, as having the largest "carbon footprint" in the state is it that they will not be required to file under Oregon's proposed Cap and Trade Program?

While investments should be treated neutrally by our government, it turns out that some pigs are more equal than others. And not a single voice is being heard in opposition to this Governor's policies.

Bob writes, in his comments to this post,

*sigh*

I love it here, I really do. I was born here, I came back for a reason. I'm proud of being an Oregonian, and in my industry, it's a wonderful place to be.

But they really are hell-bent on driving out anything resembling a successful business unless it's one of their pets, aren't they?"

Yes, Bob. I'm afraid it's true. And I don't hear a single voice giving any opposition to the mad canter of Oregon's state government.

Economic Disaster: Proposed Oregon Rules For Greenhouse Gas Reporting

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rulemaking

While your psychotic/paranoid/ignorant/stupid (enough) Governor is making nice with Cap and Trade shysters in Europe, his Moonbat Patrol at the Department of Environmental Quality is threatening you, your business, your employer's business with a new set of rules (pdf) that will require anyone using energy to report their use and maintain those records for five years.

"The purpose of this division is to establish requirements and procedures for the annual registration and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions to the Department using Department-approved reporting protocols. "

"The definitions in OAR 340-200-0020 and this rule apply to this division. If the same term is defined in this rule and OAR 340-200-0020, the definition in this rule applies to this division.

(1) "Carbon dioxide" (CO2) means the chemical compound containing one atom of carbon and two atoms of oxygen.

(2) "Carbon dioxide equivalent" (CO2e) means the quantity of a given greenhouse gas multiplied by a Global Warming Potential factor provided in Department-approved emissions reporting protocols.

(3) "Direct emissions" means emissions from an air contamination source.

(4) "Global Warming Potential factor" (GWP) means the radiative forcing impact of one mass-based unit of a given greenhouse gas relative to an equivalent unit of carbon dioxide over a given period of time.

(5) "Greenhouse gas" means any gas that contributes to anthropogenic global warming including, but not limited to, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.

(6) "Hydrofluorocarbons" (HFCs) means gaseous chemical compounds containing only hydrogen, carbon and fluorine atoms.

PROPOSED NEW DIVISION AND RULES WITHIN OAR CHAPTER 340

(7) "Indirect emissions" means emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, heating, cooling or steam.

(8) "Methane" (CH4) means the chemical compound containing one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen.

(9) "Metric ton, tonne, or metric tonne" means one metric tonne (1000 kilograms) or 2204.62 pounds.

(10) "Mobile Combustion Emissions" means emissions from the combustion of fuels in mobile combustion sources such as cars, trucks, buses, trains, airplanes, ships, and construction equipment.

(11) "Nitrous oxide" (N2O) means the chemical compound containing two atoms of nitrogen and one atom of oxygen.

(12) "Perfluorocarbons" (PFCs) means gaseous chemical compounds containing only carbon and fluorine atoms.

(13) "Reporting year" means the calendar year in which emissions required to be reported under this division occurred.

(14) "Sulfur hexafluoride" (SF6) means the chemical compound containing one atom of sulfur and six atoms of fluorine.

(15) "The Climate Registry" means the nonprofit corporation by that name incorporated under the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act with a purpose of creating and operating a North American greenhouse gas emissions registry.

If you work for The Climate Registry, whoo-ha! This is just the start of the Mother Lode. There's carbon in them thar businesses!

And dig the "indirect emissions". You buy electricity? Whoo-ah! There's carbon in them thar businesses!

Of course, while bakeries and potato chip manufacturers will have to report under the new rules, the Lefties have protected one of their own. Beer manufacturers.

Who is the largest contributor of CO2 in the United States? Budweiser. But Lefties love their beer.

So have a nice day. And remember, Man Made Global Warming is going to require you to make a few sacrifices. And you'll have to keep sacrificing as long as you believe that mumbo-jumbo.

Oh, and who is on the board?

Chair: Mark Reeve, Reeve Kearns, and former chair of the Environmental Quality Commission.
Susan Anderson, City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development
Pam Barrow, Northwest Food Processors Association
Jeremiah Baumann, Environment Oregon
Steve Bicker, Northwest Natural
Kyle Davis, PacifiCorp
Angus Duncan, Bonneville Environmental Foundation
Jim Edelson, Oregon Interfaith Global Warming Campaign
Jason Eisdorfer, Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon
Lee Fortier, Dry Creek Landfill
Charles Gatchell, Nike
Suzanne Lacampagne, Associated Oregon Industries
Marv Lewallen, Weyerhaeuser
Scott Stewart, Intel
Tom O'Connor, Oregon Municipal Electric Utilities
Tom Wood, Stoel Rives
Tom Zelenka, Schnitzer Steel/Cascade Steel Rolling Mills

DEQ Proposes Oregon Reporting Rules for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Marianne Fitzgerald, Air Quality Program, Portland, (503) 229-5946Uri Papish, Air Quality Program Operations Manager, Portland, (503) 229-6480William Knight, Communications & Outreach, Portland, (503) 229-5680

DEQ Proposes Oregon Reporting Rules for Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Comment period ends May 16, 2008; hearings to be held statewide

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is proposing rules that would require certain Oregon businesses to report greenhouse gas emissions. DEQ developed the proposed greenhouse gas emission reporting requirements with help from an advisory committee representing a broad coalition of interest groups. The rule proposal is available on the DEQ Web site at:

www.deq.state.or.us/aq/climate/rulemaking.htm

Obtaining accurate greenhouse gas emissions data is key to both the Western Climate Initiative and 2007 Oregon legislation that puts into statute Oregon’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. More background information is located at the end of this document.

Comments on the proposed rules are due to DEQ by 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 16, 2008. Comments can be submitted in writing or orally at one of several hearings that will take place across Oregon in April and May. Interested parties can send written comments by email to ghg@deq.state.or.us.

The first hearing will be hosted in Portland before the Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) at its April meeting:

April 24, 2:45 p.m.
811 SW Sixth Avenue
10th Floor, Room EQC-A
Portland, OR

Note: The EQC is DEQ’s governor-appointed governing body. For a copy of the full EQC agenda please visit: www.deq.state.or.us/about/eqc/EQCagendas.htm .

All hearings begin with an informative presentation and an opportunity for people to ask questions about the proposal:

Pendleton
Thursday, May 1, 6:30 pm
Pendleton State Office Building
First floor conference room
700 SE Emigrant Street
Pendleton

Bend
Monday, May 5, 6:30 p.m.
Deschutes County Public Library
601 NW Wall Street
Bend

Klamath Falls
Tuesday, May 6, 6:30 p.m.
Klamath County Government Center
Commissioner’s Hearing Room
305 Main Street
Klamath Falls

Medford
Wednesday, May 7, 6:30 p.m
Community Justice Center
1101 W. Main St.
Medford

Eugene
Thursday, May 8, 6:30 p.m.
Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB)*
500 East 4th Avenue, Community Room
Eugene

*EWEB furnishes public meeting rooms as a community service and does not sponsor or endorse activities or groups using EWEB’s public facilities.

Corvallis
Friday, May 9, 10:00 am
Corvallis-Benton County Library
645 NW Monroe Avenue
Corvallis, OR 97330

Portland
Thursday, May 15, 6:30 p.m.
DEQ Headquarters
10th floor, Room EQC-A
811 SW Sixth Avenue
Portland

Background:

In February 2007, Governor Kulongoski helped form the Western Climate Initiative which commits partners to developing regional targets for reducing greenhouse gases, participating in The Climate Registry and developing a market-based program to achieve reductions.

On August 7, 2007, the governor signed into law HB 3543 that creates a permanent Global Warming Commission, and also put into statute state greenhouse gas reduction goals the governor outlined in 2005. The reduction goals are to:
· arrest increasing emissions by 2010,
· reduce emissions to 10% below 1990 levels by 2020; and
· reduce emissions to 75% below 1990 levels by 2050.

The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Advisory Committee met several times between October 2007 and April 2008 to discuss issues and make recommendations on the details of an Oregon reporting system for greenhouse gas emissions. The committee reached a consensus on a statewide reporting system which DEQ is now proposing to the Environmental Quality Commission for adoption as part of DEQ’s rules.

Lefties Rant: Tax Preparers Make Money!

The Left has its own news organ. It's found at newsservice.org. Basically, if you have a Lefty Rant, you send it to this news organ and they forward your rant to newsrooms across the state. Using a distribution method that includes the theorem that there is "a fool born every minute" these Lefty rants sometimes appear in newspapers, on television and during newcasts on commercial radio stations. Depending on how well you know your job, as a news director you're required to fill a certain number of minutes each day. If you're like most Journo kids, your math skills are next to nothing. C'mon, College Algebra as a foundation for life? In journalism, you can be overqualified and actually get a "real" job if you can do the math. For example, Paul Krugman.

In its latest incantation, the Left is concerned about poor folks using tax preparers to file their taxes.

"In Oregon, families lost nearly 23 million dollars, to refund anticipation loans and other services done by predatory commercial tax preparers. And this is money that families should be able to keep in their pockets, and this is something that clearly needs to be addressed."

The speaker here is Ed Shelleby of the Children's Defense Fund.

So what do we know? It's "for the kids" so it's good. They are, after all, active in teaching our children:

"Our award-winning model supports children and families in summer and after-school settings around five essential components: high quality reading curriculum, civic engagement and social action, intergenerational leadership development, and nutrition, health and mental health."

High quality reading curriculum. "Steal This Book"?

Bottom line is, if you're poor there's usually a good reason. I've travelled around the world and you've gotta admit, we've got the richest poor people in the world. I mean, we're number 1! To be poor and remain poor takes dedication to a lifestyle. Housing, food, cash for smokes and beers, it's all there. TV? Yep. Video games? Yep. Sure, it may mean sitting around the house drinking Old English 800 and playing games on an old playstation system. Mebbe no bed frame or night stands. But, there's a floor for storing all your possessions.

So the Left complains about tax preparers. No reference on how they came up with that $23-million number. No clue as to whether it's true or not. But who cares. It's the Children's Defense Fund. It's, for the kids.

And no where is there a comment about the thousands of kids graduating from high schools each year without the math literacy to fill in their own 1040s. That's the crime. The market only steps up to provide a service, for cash, to fill a need in the market. To CDF, that's wrong.

And that is what is wrong with Lefties.

Zogby Poll: Tax Rebates Will Not Help Economy

Couple of general statistics facts. The larger the population, the greater the likelyhood that the results shown will be "normally distributed".

The curve you see is what is refered to as a normal Bell curve. The area represented by the First Standard Deviation can be found by drawing verticle lines from the x-axis to the intesecting line on the y-axis at -1 and 1. This area represents 68% of the curve's population.

So, Zogby's latest poll shows that only 28% of Americans believe rebate checks will boost the U.S. economy. 62% don't think so. That's a pretty amazing number.

If you start on the right side of the curve by describing people who believe nothing the government says, and on the left side of the curve describing people who believe everything the government says, you'll see that most people have cause to shudder when they hear the words "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you."

From Zogby:

Two in three likely voters (67%) do not think the rebate checks will give the U.S. economy a boost, with 36% who strongly disagree the checks are likely to help boost the sagging economy. Democrats (83%) and independents (70%) are more likely than Republicans (49%) to be skeptical of how much the rebate checks will improve the economy. Those doubts are also strongest among younger likely voters - 72% of those ages 18 to 29 disagree the rebate checks will help, compared to 60% of those age 65 and older. Regardless of whether they expect to receive a rebate check, 41% of those who shop weekly at Wal-Mart are optimistic about the government's plan, compared to just 15% of those who never shop at the nation's largest retailer.

Hope springs eternal. Now let's get to work on the Man Made Global Warming scam.

Senator Clinton Upcoming Oregon Trip

Hey! Good News! Senator Clinton is coming to Oregon!

Hot on the heels of her husbands victory lap around the state, and, with Oregon's numbskull--see below--Governor hot on the heels of an International Accord For The Prevention Of Man Made Global Warming, news of the Senator's upcoming visit should visit emanations and penumbras upon the Lefty Soulful of this great state.

Hillary Clinton to Visit Oregon This Saturday
Clinton to Campaign in Portland and Eugene

The Clinton campaign today announced Hillary Clinton will visit Oregon this Saturday, April 5, attending campaign events in Portland and Eugene.

Additional details to be announced.

As the details emerge, look for them here!

Governor Kulongoski's Foreign Policy

Hey, it's you and me, people.

Our moron of a Governor is working on foreign policy issues. Why?

Because you let him.

Have you looked at a map of Oregon? (pdf)

Half of this state is Frontier. Do you know what Frontier means? It means "NO PEOPLE". Are we gonna be leaders in whatever whacky scheme the Gov has for reducing Carbon Footprint when we start out with NO PEOPLE. It puts a terrific burden on those of us living in the other half of the state designated as Rural. Do you know what Rural means? "NOT MANY PEOPLE".

Right now you're buying more gas because the gas you've been mandated to buy gives less energy per gallon than the gas they can buy in, say Idaho. The gas in Idaho is cheaper, and is a higher energy gas than we can get here. Better, cheaper gas.

And you pay more every day. In a state where there are few or no people. Clatsop county is the size of Rhode Island. With between 30 and 35 thousand people. Can you imagine Rhode Island with 30,000 people? Does their governor run to Europe to talk Carbon with the Lefty European Bigwigs?

Do you really think Governor Kulongoski is smarter than you?

(Amsterdam, the Netherlands)—Governor Ted Kulongoski began his business development mission today with a meeting with APM Terminals executives in Amsterdam to advance the container terminal development project in Coos Bay, and then traveled to Brussels to meet with European Union (EU) officials and industry representatives to discuss carbon cap and trade.

“This meeting was a good opportunity to learn first hand the successes and challenges of the EU cap and trade program,” the Governor said today following the meeting. “These lessons learned will help us as we shape a better program for Oregon that works for industry and the citizens of our state.”

The Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a regional climate change effort comprised of seven states and two Canadian provinces, is tasked with completing a design of a regional cap and trade program. The group is currently meeting with stakeholders to help develop the system and is on track to have its work completed by the end of August 2008.

The cap and trade program will help Oregon reach its greenhouse gas emission reduction goal of 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020, set during the 2007 legislative session. After the WCI completes its work, the proposed design will be further shaped by the legislature for consideration in the 2009 Oregon legislative session to ensure the program works for Oregon.

“This meeting also confirmed that time is of the essence,” the Governor continued. “The effects of climate change are real and have lasting implications for our state and country’s economy and environment if we don’t act today.”

The EU's Emissions Trading Program was launched in January 2005 in response to the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, creating the world's first multi-country emissions trading system. Under the program, countries cap their carbon emissions at a certain level and then issue allowances to firms and industries to emit specified amounts of carbon dioxide under the cap over a period of time. Companies able to reduce emissions below what is required are able to sell credits to companies not able to meet their reduction targets.

The Governor continues his business mission, traveling to Tel Aviv, Israel tomorrow to meet with companies and government officials on renewable and alternative energy technologies.

Oregon. Wasting your money every day. Teddy K in Amsterdam. Having fun on your dime.

How cold do our winters have to be before these guys give up on Man Made Global Warming? How much more snowpack do we need? How much bigger a threat of spring flooding?