Climate Legislation a Tough Sell in Rust Belt. By H. Josef Hebert, AP, October 11, 2009. "In Ohio, and across much of the heartland from Michigan and Indiana to the Dakotas, and in Missouri and Arkansas, where agriculture and manufacturing are the business engines, the government's effort to curb climate-changing pollution is viewed widely through an economic prism: Will it increase energy costs and drive businesses and jobs overseas to countries such as China that may not commit to similar controls on fossil energy? President Barack Obama and congressional leaders need centrist Democrats from those states to overcome solid Republican opposition to climate legislation passed by the House and awaiting Senate action. Nowhere is the predicament more apparent than in Ohio. Here, 80% of the electricity comes from coal, unemployment tops 11% and more than one-quarter of million manufacturing jobs have vanished over the past decade...
"In Lima, 300 miles southwest of Cleveland... conservative and heavily Republican, once was a rail center and the heart of one of the nation's first oil booms more than a century ago. It's seen its share of factories close and jobs disappear. A refinery, several chemical plants, a factory making Army tanks and a Proctor and Gamble plant that makes detergent now account for much of the work... Mike Knisley, business manager for Local 776 of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters and Service Technicians, describes the area as a blue-collar and farm community with a mix of industrial plants. 'For the most part people are looking for a commonsense approach, a balance' on climate change. About 8 in 10 of Knisley's union members work in heavy industries, including those at the Husky Oil refinery just outside of town. 'If the refinery out there closes due to cap and trade we're out of business,' he said. About the climate change legislation, he said: 'If we were in better economic times it would be a little bit easier pill to swallow. The timing is just bad.'"
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