First, the good news: One of the most comprehensive pieces of energy and climate legislation ever drafted by members of the U.S. Congress has finally seen the light of day. After lots of haggling among fellow moderate and conservative Democrats, Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Edward Markey (D-MA) released their “American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009.”

Now the bad news: Their bill stinks. I’ll spare you the many odiferous details and just highlight three particularly bad aspects: 1) It won’t protect the poor from price-hikes as the price of carbon is slowly internalized into our energy bills, but will protect polluting industries by allowing them free pollution permits; 2) It opens the door to fraud and shell games instead of real climate action by setting up a huge carbon derivatives market; 3) It makes a mockery of our common understanding of “renewable energy,” favoring dirty smokestacks over truly clean, renewable energy. Read the rest of this entry »

The Waxman-Markey climate bill is the best we will get from America until the corruption of public life is addressed

‘Whether he is seeking environmental reforms, health reforms or any other improvement in the life of the American people, Obama’s real challenge is to address corruption of public life in the United States.’ Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP

It would be laughable anywhere else. But, so everyone says, the Waxman-Markey bill which is likely to be passed in Congress today or tomorrow, is the best we can expect

06/23/2009 by James Handley

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote later this week on the

By: Vicki Needham