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6 | NewScientist | 22 May 2010 Blanket benefits Green bill targets US emissions THE refusal of successive US governments to limit greenhouse gas emissions infuriates environmentalists – but things may be about to change. Last week, Democratic senator John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, an independent senator, unveiled the American Power Act – a climate bill that has President Barack Obama’s backing and promises to shake up the US economy and reinvigorate global climate-change negotiations. The bill lays out plans for a 4.5 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2013 and a 17 per cent cut by 2020. That’s based on a 2005 baseline, however, whereas many other countries start from 1990. From a 1990 baseline, the 2020 target means a cut of just 3 per cent. Still, the bill at least tells US businesses that greenhouse-gas emissions will fall in future, which should spur investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy. Businesses will also pay for emissions if the bill is passed, which would drive up the price of electricity from fossil-fuel sources. Critics argue that costlier electricity will make many products more expensive and put people out of work. But Richard Goettle at Northeastern University in Boston, who worked on an analysis of a similar bill by the US Environmental Protection Agency, disagrees. According to the EPA study, enacting the bill would cause household consumption to drop by a few hundredths of a percentage point by 2015, and by around 0.1 per cent by 2020. Consumers will react to higher electricity prices by conserving energy, says Goettle. He thinks that if electricity costs more, consumers will adapt to use less of it but won’t have to change their lifestyles. Goettle’s study also predicts that the bill would add about 20¢ to gasoline prices by 2020: not enough to force drivers to buy energy- efficient cars or drive less. Kerry and Lieberman face an enormous challenge in getting the bill passed. They will probably need Republican support, because Democratic senators from coal-rich states may vote against it. Device or service? GREG BENZ/FLICKR/GETTY UPFRONT “23andMe says its genome scan is an information service, not a medical test”
