Inspired by the speed and spending of the Apollo moon landing, the Apollo Alliance — a coalition of community organizers, environmentalists and Big Labor — is aggressively pushing President Barack Obama’s plan to regulate carbon emissions through cap and trade.
If a recent meeting of labor and environmentalists is any indication, however, cap and trade may end up in a disaster more reminiscent of the Apollo 13 mission than the triumphant Apollo 11 landing.
Earlier this month, the AFL-CIO and its Washington state affiliate hosted a conference on the proposal in Wenatchee, Wash. Despite Big Labor’s seat at the table, Bob Baugh, executive director of the AFL-CIO Industrial Union Council, admitted that cap and trade poses a serious threat to workers, especially labor members in energy-intensive industries.
Baugh’s right. According to a recent report by The Heritage Foundation, Waxman-Markey would cost millions of jobs and would increase unemployment levels — 1.9 million fewer jobs in 2012 and an average of 1.14 million fewer jobs from 2012 through 2035. Those industries most impacted include manufacturing, glass, plastic and rubber-product production and the fabricated-metal industries, all heavily unionized sectors.
Under cap and trade, industries would be forced to pay for expensive carbon credits or face massive fines. Some manufacturers will shut down facilities to fit under the cap or to seek a profit from selling their extra carbon credits. Other industries will simply relocate facilities, and the jobs that come with them, overseas.
The rest here.