Cap-and-Trade Faces Certain Death in US Senate

GreenTracker| Politico reports that Senate Democrats are telling the White House loud and clear: drop proposed cap-and-trade legislation, for many reasons. Already facing losses in Fall 2010 Congressional races, Democrats are losing their stomach for another bruising government initiative.

With a loathing for banks, credit card companies and Wall Street barons, ordinary Americans aren’t interested in another funny-money, global financial exchange that doesn’t cut emissions but allows companies to buy their way out of environmental inaction.

The deferral of environmental priorities reigns as a probability, given America’s concerns about jobs.

Environmentalist James Hansen also says ‘no’ to cap-and-trade in today’s The Observer. In his piece Copenhagen has given us the chance to face climate change with honesty, Hansen likens cap-and-trade to the buying of Catholic indulgences.

The difficulty is that fossil fuels are the cheapest energy, if the price does not include the damage they do to human health, the planet, and the future of our children. “Goals” for future emission reductions, whether “legally binding” or not, are utter nonsense as long as fossil fuels are the cheapest energy. via The observer

Yes Magazine just published: Interview with James Hansen: Why Copenhagen’s Failure Is a Blessing.

Update on Fri, January 1, 2010 by Anne

More reading from James Hanse, who we neither embrace or reject. He’s clearly a thought leader on the topic of climate change:

How to Solve the Climate Problem The Nation