NOTE TO STUDENTS: It is important that you understand both sides of the theory of global warming. Read the "Background" below the questions, and then read the article a second time before answering the questions. Actions taken by our government through Congress, or the EPA, will directly affect our standard of living. Enacting a Cap and Trade law would have led to price increases for businesses and the average American. As Heritage analyst Nicolas Loris points out in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Gasoline prices would rise by 58% (an additional $1.38 per gallon) and average household electric rates would increase by 90% by 2035 if Obama signed the bill into law. The total energy bill for a family of four would be $1,200 higher than it would be without cap and trade in place." Even liberal think tanks [that believe global warming is real] have been showing that this bill will lead to reductions in income and employment.

*** The article refers to heat trapping gasses. Heat trapping gasses, such as carbon dioxide, are created by burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas or when forests are cut down or burned. Water vapor, which occurs naturally, is also a heat trapping gas.

1. Why do Republican lawmakers refer to the "Cap and Trade" bill as a tax?

2. a) President Obama believes that global warming is a real threat. Why did he drop his plan to regulate the amount of greenhouse gases companies could emit through a cap and trade law?
b) What do you think of President Obama's decision?

3. What ruling did the Supreme Court make in 2007 that will allow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate greenhouse gases?

4. How will the results of Tuesday's elections strengthen efforts to block the EPA's regulations on greenhouse gases?

5. Ask a parent to read the article and "Background" under the questions and to share his/her opinion on whether a cap and trade law and power for the EPA to enact regulations is good or bad for Americans.