Okay, so looking for a job is exhausting. I know, I've been there. I began my job search in February. I looked at job Web sites and sent my resume out. I didn't apply to many jobs, because I didn't want to start working somewhere that I only kind of wanted the job.
I was interning as a government relations intern at a public relations firm and I sent out a few e-mail resumes. After I secured my internship for the summer on Capitol Hill, I decided to stop applying for jobs. Well, I just got a response to one of the email resumes I sent out many, many months ago. After almost 4 months, they responded "Would you be interested in interviewing with us?" Now, I already have a job lined up for after I finish my internship, but this reminds me about how important patience really is.
You can't just assume you are going to get a job after just a couple weeks or months of looking. Jobs usually come around when you are least expecting them to, and make sure when you apply for a job it is one you really want. Nothing would be worse than starting a job you only care about a little, and then getting a call (or email) a few weeks or days later saying you have an interview or job at a place you really like.
So what I am saying is: take the time and have the patience to find the job that is right for you!
Patience!
Back from Belize!
Hello all! I just returned home from a 10-day stay in Belize. It was the most amazing 10 days of my life. I hope you enjoyed Aaron's comments on Cap and Trade. Thank you so much, Aaron, for being a guest blogger while I was away!
Anyway, I went to Belize with the organization Sustainable Harvest International. SHI is an organization that deals with helping local farmers in developing countries choose organic, sustainable ways of farming. It was amazing to travel around to all of the locals' homes and teach them how to crush certain leaves of plants and use them as a pesticide or fertilizer. I really wish there were more organizations like it in the United States.
One thing that really sticks out in my mind about politics in Belize is how much these people care about the politics of the USA. We were driving down a dirt road in the country and there was a hand-made sign outside of someone's house that had "Obama USA" scrawled across it. It just surprised me how much people in a small village outside of the US are concerned about the politics here, when there are so many people living in our own country who don't pay attention to things that go on.
With that said, I am really excited to be back blogging for the summer and to be living through such a historic election!!
Cap and Trade
Christina is away for this week’s blog entry on a service trip and asked me if I could step in and write a few words. Naturally I said no.
Funny how that works.
Anyway, I was thinking about what I could possibly say about government that would make me sound like I knew what I was talking about. Sure I could write about the primaries, maybe make up some gossip about Hilary, McCain or Obama. But then again, haven't we heard enough about that subject? I'll be honest with you, I'm for Obama but what I'm really for is getting this country moving in a different direction, or moving at all for that matter. I think the magnitude of what is at stake in the upcoming election has been lost a bit in the craziness.
I promised I wouldn't go in that direction though so lets switch gears a bit and talk about something else that is going to be incredibly important in the upcoming years.
The environment. Or more specifically, global warming and how the country is going to address it.
Let me start by saying that If you don’t believe in global warming, you probably should stop reading now and go find something more productive to do with your time (maybe doing some research?). You aren’t going to find any arguments in this post that are going to change your mind and you probably aren’t going to change mine. However if you do accept the idea that the planets mean temperature is slowly rising and that this affect is being caused by the emissions of GHGs (greenhouse gases) then it’s important you understand the debate going on over how to deal with it.
The main Congressional legislation that is proposed to deal with the issue is a Cap and Trade system. I’ve got a feeling that most of America is lost somewhere between is and a in that sentence so I’m going to try to give a little bit of an overview of how it works and some of the criticisms of the system. Let me preface this by saying that the subject is really complicated, and it’s complicated for a reason. What people don’t want to say is that it’s really an energy tax. I’ve seen a lot of articles blasting Cap and Trade and calling for a carbon tax instead, in principle they are right on many points, but totally overlook the political realities of the situation. You simply are not going to pass any legislation that has the words ‘tax’ in it at a time when the economy is far from running smoothly. That doesn’t mean we don’t need action however, and it doesn’t mean a system that is effectively a tax can’t have a positive impact on both the economy and environment.
So what do you need to know about Cap and Trade? Well first of all the lets tackle the idea of a cap. These bills set up an arbitrary ceiling on the amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted in each year (generally measured in tons). The bill under current focus (S 3036, the Lieberman – Warner Climate Security Act) says that in the year 2020 the amount of GHGs emitted for that year must be 19% below the level emitted in 2005. This is the cap. It is gradually tightened so in the year 2050 GHG emissions must be nearly 70% below 2005 levels. Everyone with me?
The question is then, if we put this cap in place, how do we decide who can emit what and how much? Well that’s were the trade part of the legislation comes in. To insure that each year the level of emissions are under the cap the legislation creates an ‘allowance’ for each ton of GHG that can be emitted. The number of ‘allowances’ created each year is equal to the goal for that year, so in 2020 the government would create allowances equal to 19% below the 2005 level of GHG emissions. I’ll be honest, I have no clue what the actual number of allowances would equal (could be anywhere between 100 thousand and 100 million), the point is, a company must hold these allowances in order to emit carbon, or be held in violation and face stiff penalties.
Ah, but how do we get these allowances to the polluters so they can continue to power homes and fuel our cars? Well, that’s were it gets tricky. There are two basic ways of distributing allowances. They are either given away, or sold at an auction. If they are given away the thinking goes that companies will pass on a lower share of higher energy costs (that WILL result from cutting emissions). If they are auctioned it is believed that more efficient companies will be rewarded and those proceeds can then be used to help cushion higher energy costs.
Of course, this is a debate that is extremely heated; most companies prefer that the majority of allowances be given away (this amounts basically to a transfer of wealth, since allowances will undoubtedly be worth a substantial amount of money) and most experts believe that auctioning makes more sense because it will be both more simple (how exactly do you decide WHO and HOW MUCH if you give allowances away) and more efficient (the whole free market thing).
So what exactly is going to happen? Well in the short term not much. Current debate has been shelved due to a fight over judicial nominations and even if it weren’t, the threat of a veto and disagreements between the two chambers would result in little action. However, there is little doubt (all presidential candidates have come out in favor of some sort of climate change legislation) that in the next few years legislation will be passed. And when it is it is VERY important that everyone can understand the basic language of these systems. While issues such as the war and the mortgage crisis dominate the headlines any Cap and Trade legislation has the potential to have a far greater impact on the everyday lives of Americans. There is no doubt that a cap on GHGs will have a drastic affect on energy prices (baring a miraculous breakthrough) and any auction system will raise Trillions of dollars for the federal government. Dollars that have to be spent, either given back to consumers or invested in technology or even used to solve the entitlement mess.
Do we need to take action? Yes, but we also need to do our best to make sure that Americans understand the impact that any action will have upon their lives. My advice is simple. It is imperative that we start thinking about conservation, that we start investing in smart solutions and we accept that the age of cheap energy is over.
If you made it through all of that, thank you for reading and I hope that I inspired you to read a little bit more about what’s going on with the climate and energy issue.
