June 6th -- a letter from IL in response to the Cap and Trade editorial:

"It's startling to realize that Warner-Lieberman will require the U.S. to cut its CO2 emissions to 1,560 million metric tons by 2050, which is what our emissions were in 1922 when the population of the U.S. was 110 million.

"The population ot the U.S. is forecast to grow around 440 million by 2050. The end result is that America will need to cut its per-capita emissions to 3.5 metric tons by 2050, as compared with 14.2 metric tons in 1922.

"Warner-Lieberman requires the U.S. to cut its CO2 emissions to below China's current per capita emissions.

"The president ot the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, demonstrated that there is a linkage betwee CO2 emissions and GDP. Do those who vote for Warner-Lieberman want America to have a lower standard of living than China's?"

Is this the same page that asked whether credit would be given for dog's breath in your letter #4?

Paragraph 1 - The first link I pulled up seems to cast doubt on that first number, the totals in 1922 are FAR less than the letter claims:
http://cdiac.ornl.gov/ftp/trends/co2_emis/usa.dat

Paragraph 2 - It is equally unkind to the second set of claims - if emissions WERE 14.2 tons in 1922, they were subsequently cut by a factor of 3 by 1950, which makes claims of 14.2 as a sensible benchmark inaccurate at best, and more likely simply intended to deceive those who rely on letters to the WSJ for their "facts". Maybe you are arguing our standard of living was three times higher in 1922 than today by the same argument?

Paragraph 3 - The act proposes to diminish our consumption below China's current number, I haven't read it, but doesn't it also propose to reduce China's consumption below their current consumption, as well? I'm not sure that is such heinous unfairness. Given their reliance on coal, a real CO2 hog, I hope you are not suggesting our standard of living would fall below the current standard in China under these rules, that's ridiculous.

Paragraph 4 - You really do think it is plausible we would be driven below the current standard of living in China! - or are you just reprinting whatever seems alarming, no matter how ridiculous? The average per capita income in China is less than $2000, it is currently about $40,000 in the US, there are more than a billion people in China. Do you really think they are likely to surpass our standard of living just because we cut our CO2 consumption by a moderate amount?