Whether or not you support federal carbon legislation depends a lot on one question – how much are you willing to spend to do it? Depending on who you ask gasoline and energy rates could rise modestly or skyrocket in response to the proposed federal legislation that would cut US carbon emissions by more than two thirds by 2050. Richard Stuebi, environmental point man at the Cleveland Foundation says it's a matter of debate just how much federal restrictions on carbon emissions will increase energy rates, but they're unlikely to come cheap.
STUEBI: It's unlikely electricity prices will go down as a result of that bill – they're likely to go up and they could go up pretty significantly.
Those costs are of particular concern to industries that use a lot of energy. Ohio is the country's third largest consumer of energy for manufacturing says Kevin Schmidt of the Ohio Manufacturers association
SCHMIDT: it's a very energy intensive economy here in Ohio, so any legislation that could affect energy prices is certainly of great concern to us.
In fact, Schmidt says many manufacturers in Northeast Ohio and around the state are already doing what most environmental groups say is the first step in reducing harmful emissions- becoming more energy efficient. The Timken Company– a Canton based manufacturer of steel products - has managed to reduce the amount of energy needed to produce a ton steel by over a third in the last decade or so. And it was done, Schmidt says, without any pressure other than the desire to improve their own bottom line. But when it comes carbon caps, Schmidt thinks the bill might just be pushing too hard too fast.
SCHMIDT: In terms of renewable and advanced energy we certainly want to take advantage of whatever opportunities might lie there, we just need to make sure that it's done in a way that doesn't kind of put the cart before the horse --The targets that are set in the legislation are incredibly ambitious targets that do have a price tag .
And what do Ohio’s Senators in Washington think? Both democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican George Voinovich oppose the bill, although to different degrees. Brown says he’s concerned about the cost to businesses, but that he’d support an amended version that includes federal assistance for manufacturing-dependant communities during the transition. Voinovitch is much more thoroughly opposed. In a senate floor speech, he claimed it would hurt both the economy and the environment by pushing jobs overseas to countries like India and China where there is no carbon legislation. He said coal-dependent states like Ohio would be hit hard – and have little economic cushion to fall back on.
VOINOVICH: Americans are already struggling with the increase in their cost of living due to higher prices for gasoline, home heating fuel, electricity, food and health care. This bill would only make things worse.
Not so, say environmental groups. Natural Resources Defense Council's Dan Lashof says a bill that helps tip the energy market in favor of renewables may ultimately have positive economic impact on manufacturing states like Ohio
LASHOF: The strong manufacturing base that Ohio has actually positions it very well to contribute to building the green energy economy we're going to need to address the threat of global warming
Zoe Lipman with the Great Lakes Chapter of the National Wildlife Federation, agrees.
LIPMAN: We build advanced coal, we build advanced automotive, we build renewable energy components, so to the extent that this drives this shift – it drives employment in our state.
Neither Lipman nor Lashof buy the projections of economic woe. Both say regardless of how much energy prices increase because of carbon legislation, they will pale in comparison to the costs of dealing with the effects of global warming, and increased energy demand.
LASHOF: It's gonna require a substantial investment to achieve the emission reductions that we need to curb global warming, but that investment comes with a big payoff.
And despite all the push back, the proof that Ohio's manufacturing industry already sees a profit in renewable energy is clear. In December 2007 the Timken Company announced plans to manufacture ball bearings for wind turbines – in China. Gretchen Cuda, 90.3.