Gar Lipow in Gristmill puts the lie to "free" marketeerian plans that claim to use the power of the markets to cure GHG climate disaster.  The underlying false dilemna fallacy, only corporations can acomplish change, but unless they have a bottomline reason to go green, they'll never do it.

The conslusion?  If they own the air and water, they will protect it.  GHG emission permits are really property rights to the atmosphere itself.

That was my suspicion all along about carbon trading, that by pricing carbon it amounted to selling the atmosphere.   

A scheme to sell property rights to the oceans is brought up once in awhile too, as a way to halt pollution and overfishing.

A much better alternative to cap and trade or carbon taxes, to "price" carbon, is direct subsidy diversion to utility customers to generate, save, and store GHG free kwh of renewably sourced electricity.

Huge subsidies in the range of 10s of billions per year to the old energy monopoly economy  oil, coal, nuclear, and fuel farming industries taken away.  Ending this corporate welfare, then giving the subsidies out 10 cents per kwh for renewable electricity from rooftop solar, wind farms (on farms), and farm biogas/organic fertilizer systems.

That's a real plan.  Where customers decide which GHG saving techology is right for them and will yeild the most clean kwh and biggest government subsidy check to pay off their renewable energy systems in a few years.  After that, your own energy, home and even driving your plugin hybrid would be free, and your excess power sold onto the grid would help pay your property taxes.

Expense free living?  Almost.  That would help insure financial security and also fight energy price inflation.