This holiday season, would it help YOU to breathe a little easier knowing that you discovered a unique gift option for a friend or family member? Gift that special person on your holiday shopping list with a donation in their name toward the Campaign for Ithaca's Air (C.I.A.) purchase of sulfur dioxide (SOx) allowances in the EPA's upcoming Allowance Auction.
Say what...?
Sulfur dioxide is the root cause of acid rain in the Northeast and is a major culprit in the acidification of lakes, degradation of cultural monuments, and forest devastation. Sulfur dioxide -- like carbon dioxide -- also contributes to poor air quality, which can greatly impact our health.
Since the Clean Air Act of 1990, the cap-and-trade market has been trying to reduce SO2 and its negative impacts. The "cap" aspect of the market refers to the maximum amount of SO2 emissions released by power plants. Every U.S. company is allocated a certain number of allowances based on historic fuel consumption and specific emission rates.
Companies can decide to reduce their emissions through technological advances, such as adding smokestack scrubbers. If a company is able to reduce its emissions below their allocated amount, they are free to sell their "extra" permits to another company that may be polluting more -- this is the "trade" part. The goal of the cap-and-trade market is to reward those companies that are already reducing their emissions by allowing them to make a profit, and penalize companies that are not reducing their emissions by making them pay for extra permits.
One permit is worth one ton of sulfur dioxide and permits can be acquired from companies selling them or from bidding on them at the Sulfur Dioxide Allowance Auction, conducted annually by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Like any other auction, companies bid for permits. Therefore, a bid too low won't receive any permits. Companies or individuals with requests that are too high will also not sell any permits. Companies have to bid in the average range (last year's was $400 dollars). Colleges and environmental groups can enter the auction to buy up permits to make them unavailable to companies. This is the goal of the Campaign for Ithaca's Air: to buy as many permits as possible. This will drive up the individual price of each permit and make fewer available.
If you're interested in purchasing a share of our College "bid" on Sulfur Dioxide Allowances, e-mail Robyn Jennings at [mailto:rjennin1@ithaca.edu] with your name and pledge amount.
If interested, you may request the receipt of a nifty gift card that will indicate that you donated the amount of your payment -- thus giving the "the gift of cleaner air" -- in honor of the card's recipient.
How's THAT for a novel holiday gift that will indeed keep on giving all year long?
Think about it ...
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20071207154630524