Senate Taking Up Key Climate-Change Bill

[Hissyspit]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Senate taking up key climate-change bill
Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau
Sunday, June 1, 2008

(06-01) 17:07 PDT Washington -

The Senate will decide this week whether to follow in California's footsteps and pass legislation requiring cuts in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change. Lawmakers are set to vote Monday to begin debate on a bill that could reshape the U.S. economy by requiring industry to pay to emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases. Opponents call it a new tax on industry that could raise gas prices and energy bills for consumers. Supporters say it's a crucial step to advance cleaner energy and protect the planet.

There's a growing consensus in Congress that global warming poses a serious threat, but the bill's backers still fear they could end up short of the 60 votes needed to avoid a filibuster in the Senate. But the measure's sponsors believe that even getting a majority of senators to back the bill would be a show of strength, laying the groundwork for passage in the next Congress under a new president. "However far we take it, it is very important to start now," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and has been shepherding the bill through the Senate.

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Most environmental groups support the bill, although some are concerned that it doesn't go far enough. The measure would reduce U.S. greenhouse gases by about 66 percent below current levels by 2050, but many climate scientists say reductions of at least 80 percent below 2000 levels will be required to avoid the most severe impacts of rising temperatures.

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The bill uses the same "cap and trade" approach featured in the legislation passed by the California Legislature and signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006. The Senate bill would cap emissions in 2012 and require them to drop by almost 2 percent a year until 2050. The measure would cover about 87 percent of U.S. emissions - from 2,100 coal-fired power plants, refineries, natural gas processors and factories - and allow those emitters to buy and sell credits to pollute.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/01/MN4I10U7TD.DTL

[SpiralHawk]

1. "I'm vetoing any & every fact-based lib-rul plan. Smirk." - Commander AWOL

"Because we republicons don't believe in facts. So shut up and sit down, you noisy proles. Smirk."

- Commander AWOL