Up in the Air

By Bill Polits
A report just issued by the Energy Information Administration says that - even without factoring in the benefits of life without global warming - it won't cost more than an average of 23 cents per day per household to create green jobs and protect the environment under the Waxman-Markey American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.

The EIA's fact sheet (PDF) reports that there would be many benefits towards the creation of green jobs as "clean coal" technology is deployed, nuclear power expands and renewable energy makes a jump of 28% by 2030.

Still, many groups don't believe the hype about the low costs of this bill. The Heritage Foundation counters that the bill hits low-income families the hardest, even though they are provided a credit under the plan, and that manufacturing businesses in the south and Midwest will be hard hit, as will regions where coal-fired plants most dominate the energy landscape.