The EPA (Environmental Politics Administration) and the Obama administration have announced a new "Crap and Trade" Program, according to John Outhouse, Deputy Under Secretary of the EPA. The new cr@p & Trade policy sets three sets of maximum limits of methane emissions based on age: tier one limits for children 13 and under; tier two for young adults 14 to 21; and tier three for adults over 21. The cr@p and trade program allows people who control their food intake in such a way as to reduce total methane release to less than the maximum allowed for their age bracket to receive cr@p credits. These credits can then be sold or traded to people, such as vegetarians, whose diets cause them to emit levels of methane over the maximum limits. A cr@p Credit Tax Board (CCTB), whose members will be appointed by the Deputy Under Secretary, will determine both maximum methane emission limits, and the corresponding cr@p credit tax rate for each cr@p credit sold or traded. It is anticipated that the CCTB will implement a tiered tax rate, depending on the percentage that a methane emissions violator (MEV) is over the maximum limit.

To oversee the monitoring of methane emissions, the White House has announced the establishment of the Methane Emissions Monitoring Board, or MEMB. The responsibility of the MEMB is to identify MEV's and assess and collect appropriate cr@p credit fines. The MEMB will also be a clearing house for the buying and selling of cr@p credits. It is rumored that the MEMB will be headed up by Al Gore, who already has experience in setting up a carbon trading scheme.

Reported by Paul Frankfarter, Copyright (C) 2009