The American Spectator

p> KYOTO FAILURE br> Re: Michael Fumento’s Woe Unto Kyoto : /p>

Michael Fumento’s excellent piece on the stupidity and futility of pursuing mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions was a welcome eulogy to Kyoto, but he neglected to mention that the news has not reached the ears of a number of blue state governors.

California continues to pursue Kyoto style efforts to reduce GHG emissions from cars and power plants. Seven blue Northeastern states have signed on to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“Reggie”), which will, like Kyoto, sharply raise energy prices, symbolically reduce GHG emissions and avert no detectable global warming. Republicans Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Don Carcieri of Rhode Island had a last minute sanity attack and withdrew their states.

Reggie clearly requires Congressional approval under Article 1, Section 10 of the Constitution, which forbids such interstate agreements without the consent of Congress. But although eleven of 12 New England Senators support regulating GHG emissions and Reggie, not one has been willing to press for Congressional approval.

p>The President and Congress make foreign policy like Kyoto, not the states. Senator George Allen says conservatives need to speak up… this would be an excellent opportunity. br> — Jon Reisman br> Associate Professor of Economics and Public Policy br> University of Maine at Machias /p>