NYT: Bills on Climate Move to Spotlight in New Congress

[DeepModem Mom]

Bills on Climate Move to Spotlight in New Congress
By FELICITY BARRINGER and ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: January 18, 2007

WASHINGTON, Jan. 17 — The climate here has definitely changed.

Legislation to control global warming that once had a passionate but quixotic ring to it is now serious business. Congressional Democrats are increasingly determined to wrest control of the issue from the White House and impose the mandatory controls on carbon dioxide emissions that most smokestack industries have long opposed.

Four major Democratic bills have been announced, with more expected. One of these measures, or a blend of them, stands an excellent chance of passage in this Congress or the next, industry and environmental lobbyists said in interviews.

Many events have combined to create the new direction — forsythia blooming in lawmakers’ gardens in January, polar bears lacking the ice they need to hunt and Al Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” along with pragmatic executives seeking an idea of future costs and, especially, the arrival of a Democratic-controlled Congress. There was evidence of the changed mood all over Washington this week.

On Wednesday, leading scientists and evangelical pastors jointly declared their intention to fight the causes of climate change and the public confusion on the subject. Cheryl Johns, a professor at the Church of God Theological Seminary, called that problem “nature deficit disorder.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/18/washington/18climate.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

[Uncle Joe]

1. I recommended, but I believe this part of the column makes a good point

"Some scientists and economists have expressed concern in recent weeks that the discussions here is overly focused on emissions caps, with too little attention on what they say is an essential need, greatly expanded government-financed research on nonpolluting energy technologies.

Richard G. Richels, a climate expert and an economist at the Electric Power Research Institute, an organization in Palo Alto, Calif., that conducts energy studies for the utility industry, said a carbon dioxide cap would mainly prompt industry to deploy existing cleaner technologies that provide gains, but fail to come close to solving the climate problem."

Thanks for the post DeepModem Mom

[Bandit]

2. Every journey no matter how long starts with the first step

It is a start and just as the snowball that is being rolled to the edge of the mountain it will pick up both mass and speed..

[DeepModem Mom]

3. And thanks for your post! nt