Last Tuesday, the EPA proposed the mandatory reporting of gases blamed for global warming from 13,000 facilities nationwide.

In a statement announcing the proposed regulation, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson noted that "Our efforts to confront climate change must be guided by the best possible information".

This information gathered by the proposed regulation would collect emissions data from individual facilities that emit 25,000 tons or more of greenhouse gases per year.

These include refineries, automobile manufacturers, power plants, coal mines, and manure ponds at farms, which are collectively accountable for 85-90% of this country's greenhouse gas emissions. The regulation would cover companies that not only release greenhouse gases, but also produce or import the fuels and chemicals that produce these gases.

This legislation would fall under the system of "cap-and-trade".

Cap-and-trade can be explained as a system of "pollution credits". An overall air quality goal is set for an area, and the sources of air pollution are given an allowance of emissions of the various pollutions. If the emissions come in under the limit, the leftover allowances can be sold on the open market.

This proposed form of cap-and-trade legislation would lay the groundwork for future regulation of greenhouse gases. Climate policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, David Doniger, commented, "These emissions reporting rules are a welcome foundation for any serious program to curb global warming pollution".

The 2 public hearings for this proposal have been scheduled for April 6th and 7th at the EPA Potomac Yard Conference Center in Arlington, VA, and April 16th and the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, CA.

If passed, the EPA has estimated that the registry would cost companies about $127 million a year, and the first reports would be due in 2011.