Foreign Policy explores the history of “cap and trade” — the phrase and the concept. The idea has been around since 1967, but the phrase wasn’t coined until 1994, when Joseph Goffman, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Fund, told Congress that a “‘cap-and-trade’ regime … illustrates a compelling strategy for internalizing the environmental costs of energy and electricity production.”[%comments]
The Origins of “Cap and Trade”
TAGS: environment, global warming
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I thought it was “cap-on-trade.” Anyway, thanks. I guess y’all know that you have done me a favor. Quiet Time.
I think the phrase is older than 1994. I remember hearing it in law school in the very early 80′s, along with discussions about preventing development in flood plains. We haven’t moved very far in ideas since then and we haven’t done very much in the way of making intelligent choices since then.