Northern VA student submits testimony against proposed Virginia Cap & Trade scheme

The State of Virginia is getting ready to follow the liberal Mecca of California down the dark, misguided path of a carbon trading scheme. One local student however, David Bucarey, a freshman Psychology major at Northern Virginia Community College, wanted to make his opposition to this proposed regulation known.

NOVA freshman David Bucarey (center)

David submitted formal comments to the VA Department of Environmental Quality during their comment period on the new regulation to make sure the State’s bureaucrats were aware that not all college students supported this horrible policy.

Known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, (pronounced “Reggie”), the proposal would require power plants within Virginia to offset their carbon emissions by either investing in solar or wind, or buying carbon credits. While every state that has adopted such a policy has seen their electricity rates skyrocket with no impact on carbon emissions, that unfortunately does not seem to be deterring newly elected Governor Northam. You can read the full proposed regulation here.

Thankfully, there are still students like David who aren’t buying into the liberal agenda on wasteful, big government policies when it comes to the environment. Please take the time to read David’s thoughtful comments here:

To whom it may concern,

My name is David Bucarey and I am a Fairfax, Virginia resident and student at Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA). I am a freshman studying Psychology and I plan to transfer to George Mason University in Fairfax, VA in the Fall of 2019. I am involved with CFACT (Collegians For A Constructive Tomorrow), which looks for technological solutions to environmental problems.

I am writing to say that I am against Virginia joining a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). If Virginia does join this, it  will be much harder for me to be able to continue to successfully work my way through college.

I come from a family of immigrants from Venezuela and Colombia, and live at home with my 3 siblings and parents. We are hardworking people: my dad is a bus driver and my mom drives Uber to help support our family.

I cannot afford to pay for college without working while I also study. An RGGI would make our electricity bills much higher. Not only would that make me have to help my parents out with part of my income, but it would also hurt my family as well.

Places that already have programs like this, such as California and New England, have electricity bills much higher than regions of the country that do not participate in RGGI. 

When electricity becomes more expensive, it hurts everyone. Businesses, families, and even colleges pay utility bills. Some may say the best way to help those looking to improve their lives, like my family and I, is through taxing the rich and giving more government programs to us. But we do not want hand outs from the government. We work hard to contribute to society and pursue the American Dream. Increasing costs just hurts businesses and costs jobs for hardworking people.

Please, from a young student who has lived in Virginia my entire life, do not enter an RGGI initiative. If the State does this, paying for college will be much harder for me and my family, and it may not be possible at all.

Thank you,
David Bucarey