Manchin Weighs in on Cap and Trade

Gov. Joe Manchin assessed the U.S. House-passed cap-and-trade bill while attending a Southern Governors Association panel on energy issues, The Associated Press reports.

Manchin "Gov. Steven L. Beshear of Kentucky, both Democrats, said the bill their own party is pushing ignores support for the carbon-capture technology necessary to make their states' rich coal reserves viable," the article said.

"We embrace the change," Manchin was quoted as saying. "Do I agree exactly with the way the bills have come out? No, I don't. They've identified and villainized (coal), but they haven't fixed anything."

The article explains that "the cap-and-trade energy bill now before Congress establishes incentives for new technologies such as wind and solar power and new fuels such as diesel from algae. But it holds little appeal to Gulf Coast and Appalachian states that provide most of America's domestic energy, governors from those regions said."