One of the largest federally mandated programs ever is coming
down the pike and it will impact every aspect of U.S.
steelmaking. It's expected to become the law of the land soon
after a new president moves into the Oval office. When the law
is signed, as most expect it will be in early 2009, U.S.
manufacturers will have to cap their emissions, probably at 2009
levels. At that point, depending on the bill's language, they
will either be sold or given emissions "credits." The credits
will be bought and sold among emitters, and as the price of
carbon rises so too will the incentive to accumulate more
credits. It will be in the economic interest of manufacturers,
therefore, to reduce their emissions and thereby save the planet
from the catastrophic impacts of global warming. While the idea
of cap and trade is simple—the system's goal is to reduce carbon
emissions, the leading contributor to global warming—drafting
the bill, not to mention its implementation, could be a
nightmare. Europe, the first to implement a