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About 30 protest against Cap and Trade
Protesters of a climate change bill that could get voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives as early as Friday rally in front of the Federal Building on Thursday, June 25, 2009, in Huntington.
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HUNTINGTON -- About 30 people opposed to the proposed cap-and-trade bill in Congress rallied Thursday in front of the Corps of Engineers building.
Their plea: for Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., to vote 'no' when the bill goes up for a vote in the House, which could come as early as Friday.
The fear, especially for the West Virginia economy, is that the cap-and-trade bill, touted as a way to manage pollution, would destroy the coal industry.
Officially called the American Climate and Energy Act of 2009, it is designed to transition the nation toward renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. That could impact West Virginia's economy more than others. the rally participants said.
"If Congress votes in the cap and tax, it's gonna be awful in the coalfields," said Kay Medley, who grew up in the southern coalfields of West Virginia. "It will put all the miners out of work. I would hate to see that happen. There are so many people's lives at stake."
Rahall, through a press release sent out Thursday afternoon, said he planned to vote against the bill.
"While this bill is greatly improved from the discussion draft that was first circulated in March of this year ... more improvements are needed to gain my support," he said. "Coal does much more than keep the lights on in big cities across America. In southern West Virginia, it covers the mortgage, puts food on the family dinner table and keeps open the doors of small businesses. "
Under the bill, the government would set a cap on how much total pollution a company is permitted to emit, based on the industry and size. Each company would be issued credits, which they can trade or sell off if they come in under the cap. Companies that go over the cap can acquire the credits, with the need to purchase acting as the fine.
Beginning in 2012, a national cap -- or total maximum CO2 emissions -- would be set and then ratcheted down annually. Electric utilities, cement and steel plants, and others would need one allowance for every ton of CO2 sent up smokestacks. Power plants emit about 2.4 billion tons of CO2 annually -- nearly 40 percent of total U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions.
But some believe this will put many people out of jobs and increase a household's utility bill by thousands of dollars each year.
That's why Gary Rugel, a retired contractor from Charleston, participated in the rally.
"It's a grassroots effort to try to get Congressman Rahall to vote against this bill because of its impact on West Virginia," he said.
"I have children and grandchildren who would be indebted by this."
Whether the rally, or others like it around the country, will have an impact on the vote, Medley said it still sends a strong message to the country's leaders.
"We have to start standing up for what we believe in," she said. "If they fail to stand up and be counted, then don't be complaining after its over.
"We have to let people in office know what we want them to do as our representatives," Medley added.
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Doug McKinney issued a statement Thursday, calling the bill a large energy tax.
He said it will "increase costs for the average American household by more than $1,200 and endanger 10,000 to 25,000 jobs in energy production, an industry important to West Virginia," he said in the statement. "Unfortunately, Democrats in Congress are out of touch. The American people want energy independence and a cleaner environment without a national energy tax."
Rahall said the bill is important, but it needs work and time to allow for companies to update to the technologies that would allow them to comply.
"We must allow time for expensive clean coal technologies to come on line," Rahall said. "These technologies are critical to lowering emissions across multiple sectors of our economy. And they are necessary for keeping hardworking coal miners in the jobs they want, providing power for the country they love."
The Senate version of the bill was passed by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee Wednesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
