What impact will the Waxman-Markey bill have on reversing the effects of global warming?
Consider this: China emits four times as much carbon dioxide as the United States and six times as much as the European Union or Japan. To date, China has said it will not accept absolute limits on its emissions. Since the U.S. share of global CO2 production is less than 25 percent (and is projected to decline as China and other developing nations grow), a 15 percent reduction of U.S. carbon dioxide would lower global CO2 output by less than 4 percent. While the Waxman-Markey bill might be well-intentioned, experts say its impact on global warming would be virtually unnoticeable. Harvard University Professor Martin Feldstein noted, “The proposed legislation would have a trivially small effect on global warming while imposing substantial costs on all American households. The Waxman-Markey target would raise the cost of living of a typical household by $1,600 a year or higher. Americans should ask themselves whether this annual tax of $1,600-plus per family is justified by the very small
