1.) Al Gore’s climate choice. 2.) Why choose a geothermal
heating system? 3.) Is Virginia’s race a referendum on energy?
4.) Fanciful gardens in Baghdad. 5.) Buffett bets big on coal.
Under a cap-and-trade system, polluters buy permits, usually
from government authorities, to compensate for their emissions.
Such a system would raise hundreds of billions of dollars in an
economy the size of the United States. So, what should
governments do with that money? President Barack Obama said in
his recent budget proposal that any revenues raised in the
United States (estimated at $646 billion between 2012 to 2019)
should be used for alternative energy development — and tax
breaks for some citizens. That last bit makes sense, given that
companies facing little competition, like big utilities, can
easily pass on the costs of buying the permits, which could lead
to sharp price increases on everyday goods — and on electricity
in particular. Warren Buffett warned about this consequence last
night. Mr. Buffett’s point is re