After all the debates going on in the government about cap and trade, one can’t decide which side to take, but after all, there’s always a better answer to every wrong question. What I mean to say is that no matter how negative they say each side of the campaign is, I agree with Annie Leonard. She is debating against cap and trade. I believe Cap and Trade is just working as a distraction for us human beings, it’s not going to help us at all, even though the idea is good, we can’t work with that yet, it’s not going to work. Let me explain why-

Just as Leonard said, Cap and Trade is an idea debated by the government about what is going to happen to our world. Enron and Goldman Sacs created this idea along with other companies. They believe that throughout a period of time, until 2050, they can decrease the amount of carbon in the world by 80% to reach 350 ppm. If you look at their plan generally, it obviously seems like a great idea, the problem is the details, as stated by Leonard, the “three devils.” These prove that this idea tends to disguise itself as good, and it works as a step, the problem is, it’s not going to work long-term because it’s not coping with, and controlling the industries of the 21st century.

Let me explain what I just said by going in detail. As mentioned before, the goal is to stay under the line that is going to decrease carbon in the world. In order to reach this goal, Cap and Trade created a permit sustained by the government to keep carbon under the bar. Just what Annie was talking about, every year they give a certain number of permits to each company. This permit allows companies to release carbon into the environment, but naturally, some companies need more carbon than others, and as Leonard said, “that’s where the trade comes in.” Companies trade these permits with each other, increase the economy, and at the same time save the world. It sounds like a great deal, but let’s talk about the three devils mentioned before.
All humans have this tendency to create new ideas and to find a way to fit them all together but sometimes, two puzzle pieces don’t connect with each other correctly and little gaps form in between. It’s something like this for Cap and Trade. Leonard explains these gaps as the “three devils.” As an audience, at first, I believed Cap and Trade is going to help us and I agreed with these companies, but there is so much behind the industries’ good side that when explained, it can change your perspective about the idea completely. The first devil, explained as “Cap and Giveaway,” It’s how the government is giving free permits but they should be selling them. This is just making our carbon footprint worse and worse, it´s not helping at all. The second devil, known as “Offsetting,” explains how companies supposedly reduce pollution, but other companies put it back in. In this project, “the scams are infinite.” Lastly, the third devil, the worst of them all, “Distraction.” Cap and Trade is distracting people from helping the environment. Too sum it up, citizens like you and me have to speak up, understand these three devils and understand why Cap and Trade is just not the correct solution.

After all I’ve said in the last paragraphs, I have one goal, to change your perspective. Now that you understand the problem, and see how Cap and Trade is not a solution, join our side, the right side. Everything as an overview is great, but once you get to the details, perspective is everything. That is why I want you to understand how bad Cap and Trade is and how we have to speak up as citizens and express out point of view.