SPIKE IN UTILITY SO2 EMISSIONS PROMPTS CRITICISM OF TRADING PROGRAMS

EPA's new report showing a 4 percent increase in sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from power plants in 2003 -- the first time acid rain emissions have increased since 1998 -- is leading environmentalists to question the benefits of politically popular emissions trading programs. EPA officials said the 400,000-ton spike in SO2, detailed in a new EPA report on acid rain emissions, is a result of utilities using long-held "banked" emission credits. Congress gave the companies the option of banking credits...