From melting ice caps and rising sea levels to an increase in natural disasters and adverse health effects, the effects of global warming are vast and will continue to get worse if nothing is done reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. One of the main concerns is the health of humans as the earth warms. Injuries due to severe weather, respiratory problems due to bad air quality, and nutritional deficiencies due to food shortages are all expected to increase because greenhouse gases are warming the earth. The health of many people is being compromised by large emitters such as industrial businesses, but it is these businesses that contribute to a strong economy by employing many individuals. Therefore, completely eliminating these industries is not a wise economic choice. However, there is currently no incentive program to encourage these businesses to invest in methods to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases they emit. It is estimated that companies can reduce their rate of pollution by 20 to 50 percent while remaining profitable if there is a market to sell carbon credits. Continuing to generate profits while reducing the amount of pollution emitted into the atmosphere seems like an ideal solution, but with no market place to sell carbon credits there is no incentive for management to change the way their business operates

1. -Chris Thompson -Michael Nemmetz -Steve Hessler -Su Zanne Wong Implications of a Cap & Trade System in the United States

9. Annex I Countries 1 Australia 12 Finland 23 Lithuania 34 Slovenia 2 Austria 13 France 24 Luxembourg 35 Spain 3 Belarus 14 Germany 25 Monaco 36 Sweden 4 Belgium 15 Greece 26 Netherlands 37 Switzerland 5 Bulgaria 16 Hungary 27 New Zealand 38 Turkey 6 Canada 17 Iceland 28 Norway 39 Ukraine 7 Croatia 18 Ireland 29 Poland 40 United Kingdom 8 Czech Republic 19 Italy 30 Portugal 41 United States 9 Denmark 20 Japan 31 Romania 10 Estonia 21 Latvia 32 Russian Federation 11 European Community 22 Liechtenstein 33 Slovakia

11. Cost Implications

12. Slowed GDP Growth “ Each one percent increase in U.S. GDP growth is accompanied by a 0.3 percent increase in energy us (Thorning)”

13. Factors of Slowed GDP

18. Alternatives to Cap and Trade

21. Las Vegas, Lights off for Earth Day Las Vegas, a typical night

26. Future Energy Consumption

28. Questions ?