Oh no - legislation originally cosponsored by our two least favorite war apologists in the Senate, and now joined on by the Kos-dissing Barack Obama? Time to mobilize a big effort to fight this bill, whatever it is?
Just the opposite: the bill is the reincarnation of the 2004 Climate Stewardship Act, which is the most serious effort in the Senate to take a first step toward reducing the carbon emissions responsible for catastrophic global warming.
This AP article has the details (quoted under the fold):
Potential presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama are joining with newly independent Sen. Joe Lieberman on a plan they say would reduce global-warming gases by one-third over the next four decades.
Their bill, being announced Friday, is intended to cut the heat-trapping emissions by 2 percent a year through mid-century. It is sure to produce a contentious debate on climate control in the new Democratic-run Congress and draw strong opposition from the White House and industry.
Sens. McCain, R-Ariz., Obama, D-Ill., and Lieberman, I-Conn., are calling for mandatory caps on greenhouse emissions for power plants, industry and oil refineries. Their plan would require releases of heat-trapping gases to return to 2004 levels by 2012 and to 1990 levels by 2020....
"With each passing year, the consequences of federal inaction on reducing greenhouse gas emissions become more devastating for our children and grandchildren, and the range of solutions grows smaller," Obama said in a statement Thursday.
The article goes on to describe a weaker alternative bill being pushed by Sen. Bingaman (D-NM).
It pains me to say it, but kudos to McCain and Lieberman for being on the right side of the global warming debate. And here's a chance for Obama to prove his worth as a Senator: if he can bring the Democrats on board behind the stricter bill, instead of Bingaman's, that will be a substantial achievement.