Where do Byrd and Rockefeller Stand on Cap and Trade?

Senators Byrd and Rockefeller haven't made their positions clear on cap and trade legislation, which would charge power companies for credits that allow them to emit carbon dioxide. They are truly between a rock and a hard place, as their hearts are probably with the Democratic mainstream, which supports cap and trade legislation, but their constituents will be angered if that legislation a) increases utility bill and b) costs jobs in the energy sector. So far they've stayed mum on what they plan to do, according to this Daily Mail article.

Under cap and trade, the government would sell power plants limited allowances for carbon dioxide emissions, and then reduce them, driving down CO2 emissions and increasing the cost of credits. The idea is that it would make carbon-based energy more in line with the costs of alternative energy. But as this Wall Street Journal article shows, getting alternative energy sited is no sure thing.

Cap and trade is doomed to fail. I can't see that the Senate is going to put meaningful limits on greenhouse gas emissions when developing countries are certain to continue pumping out CO2 unabated. If you believe in climate change, it would be more cost effective to learn to live with it than try to stop CO2 build up.