Senators John Kerry and Joseph Lieberman finally released their 987-page climate bill, which they hope will be passed as a means to slow down pollution and global warming. The bill was amended in light of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, greatly scaling back the planned expansion of new offshore drilling sites. Despite the support of some utilities and energy companies, it seems unlikely that the bill will even make it through the Senate before the end of this year, due to partisanship in Congress, the immigration issue, and uncertainty surrounding energy policy in general, caused by the Gulf oil spill. The bill has many industry handouts, and has not been met favorably by many environmentalists who think it does not go far enough to tackle global climate change. The good news: a climate bill has been written and is on the table to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The bad news: it will take time to get into the limelight of debate in Congress and, once it gets there, it will be extremely difficult to pass.
-Mitchell Flexo
(Via New York Times)
Photo: Demonstrators in San Francisco hold signs while marching in the streets in protest of the climate and energy bill before Congress last September (Justin Sullivan/Getty)
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