Saturday, December 26, 2009

Carrie on Covering the Emissions Markets

“I’ve been in D.C. for five years. I first came here to intern for a now defunct non-profit organization. Living here is a huge transition from Kentucky, where I grew up. I have definitely had all of the things that can happen to you in city life, both the good and the bad. But, coming to D.C. was one of the best things that I ever did, as I met some of my best friends here.

"Now, I am the editor of a daily publication that covers emissions markets. My work is relevant to D.C. because the emissions markets exist because the Environmental Protection Agency wrote a regulation that puts a cap on emissions. Because of that, utilities and industries can trade emissions amongst themselves to control their outputs. To cover these markets, you have to be in D.C. I spend my days around the policy makers who created and regulate that market. I write about how utilities are working within the regulations and about those that are in trouble for not complying. With time, a lot more people have been interested in what I do. When I started, I was just covering emissions markets that no one really cared about, but now people are really interested in greenhouse gases and how to cut their emissions into the environment. Because of that, our publication has become much more profitable.

"While people were hopeful about Copenhagen, the talks didn’t really do anything. No one came to any kind of agreement. What keeps me optimistic is the electric utility industry and places like D.C. that strive to be green. Compared to cities in the U.S., D.C. is a green city. Compared to international cities, I am not so sure. We still have a ways to go."

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