Alternative Climate Change Bill

A new federal "climate change" bill has been submitted in the Senate. The new framework the CLEAR bill proposes, plus the "cap-n-dividend" approach, is much more aligned with the values of HIPL than the cap-n-trade bill passed by the House. A summary of the bill's pro's and con's is below. Read the full article and let us know what you think.

A New Outside-the-Beltway Climate Bill Deserves Support; Why Won't Enviros Get Behind It?
By David Morris
AlterNet
Posted on December 27, 2009

"Whatever President Obama promised in Copenhagen, Congress will have to deliver. The near-term prospects are dim. One key problem is that until recently, all climate bills have been assembled by hundreds of legislators trying to placate thousands of lobbyists. The results have been predictable. Virtually uninhibited carbon trading, a Wall Street delight, is at the core of most climate bills. The projected emission reductions are often more aspirational than real. Carbon allowances are dispensed freely and widely to buy off virtually every interest group.

"While Democratic Party leaders have been talking to lobbyists inside the Beltway, Senator Maria Cantwell, D-WA and her staff have been looking for answers from activists and experts outside the Beltway. The result is the Carbon Limits and Energy for America's Renewal (CLEAR) Act. Co-sponsored by Susan Collins, R-ME, this groundbreaking bill avoids the compromises and subterfuges of existing climate bills and embraces a new philosophical and strategic approach.