The heated topic of cap and trade was the subject of debate Monday night at the University of Charleston.
It took place at the Geary Auditorium

The debators were Patrick Michaels and Dave Hawkins.

Michaels, is the senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute.
Michaels says if passed, cap and trade would cripple West Virgina's economy.

Hawkins is the director of climate programs for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He says climate change is a huge problem across the world. He says it's melting glaciers and even affecting water quality here in West Virginia.

The goal of the cap and trade bill is to put a "cap" or limit on carbon emissions.
It passed the house back in June and now it's in the Senate, where a task force is being created to further examine the pros and cons of this very much debated bill. That task force would then present their findings on the Senate floor.

Monday's events coincide with the largest and most important U.N. Climate Change Conference in history in Copenhagen.
Diplomats from 192 nations, including President Obama, are negotiating what their countries can do to reduce greenhouse gasses.