Thanks for commenting on the blog.

For the record, I am not a supporter of coal technology for a variety of reasons — global warming, human health concerns, and mountain-top removal mining. But the bill does specifically advocate for expansion of sequestration technologies, forcing many environmentalists to swallow a bitter pill in order to achieve some of the bills better virtues (like 25% of our energy coming from renewable technologies by 2025). There are limited exemptions in the bill for some heavy industry that seems particularly vulnerable to foreign displacement like the steel industry, but it seems like these exemptions seem to exist on the margins. The bill is also light on specifics when it comes to how much money may be raised by the auction for pollution credits and where that money might be used — if it is anything like Obama’s Budget plan (where he accounted for the projected revenue generated under a cap and trade), it should be raising billions of dollars with a fair chunk of that money going back to low income household that may need assistance paying utility bills.

For more information, see this fact sheet, http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090331/acesa_summary.pdf, I found it to be very helpful.

Thanks.