I wish I could say greetings from Toronto as I personally had a great time at our fall conference and I truly enjoyed Toronto and all that it had to offer. Thanks again to Corinne Boone, and her program committee of Garth Edward and Andy Ertel for making this one of the most successful conferences in the short history of EMA. Again, I hope each of you who attended the fall conference had a most enjoyable time and took away something that was useful to you in your work in emissions trading. Please take time to review this issue of the Emissions Trader in detail. We are already planning for our spring 2001 conference as we return to the Wigwam in Phoenix. I’m sure Mark Perlis and his program committee would appreciate input from you regarding topics you would like to hear about at the next conference. Mark’s phone number and e-mail address is listed in this issue of the Emission Trader and again he would love to hear from you. 

I will continue to keep EMA members posted as to the status and any challenges to the very restrictive anti SO₂ emission trading bill which was signed into law in the state of New York last May. Again, EMA’s charter and by-laws will not allow us to challenge the legality of this ill-conceived legislation. As a Board, we are looking into new areas such as a Phase II grant from the EPA on the ETEI project; the possibility of establishing international EMA chapters in Japan, Europe and Latin America, and the possibility of holding an international EMA meeting in Europe some time next year in association with another entity. We are also looking into establishing a charitable 501(c-3) EMA foundation so EMA can receive contributions for the furtherance of education in emissions trading.

Each of you should be receiving a letter regarding the electronic 2000-2001 EMA Membership Directory. Please let us know if we need to make any changes, additions or corrections to your listing. Congratulation to Matt Most and John Palmisano upon their election to the EMA Board of Directors. I look forward to working with these individuals to help make EMA the preeminent group that government and industry look to for expertise in emissions trading. On a personal note, thank you for re-electing me to the EMA Board, as I consider it a privilege to represent EMA members and promote the concept of emissions trading.

EMA is your organization and we as a Board continue to seek your input as to how EMA can better meet your needs. Please invite others to join with us and find out what EMA has to offer. I know this holds true for all the Officers and Board members of EMA, we genuinely look forward to hearing from you. Mark your calendars now for EMA’s 5th Annual Spring Meeting, May 6-8, 2001, in Phoenix, Arizona.