WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT A NATIONAL CRISIS? – AT 7:08 A.M. ET:  The planet will burn up, the cities will be flooded, millions will perish, and we'll have to live on the Moon because Earth will be uninhabitable...unless we act now, now, now!!

Or maybe in a couple of years.  Hey, let's not panic.  From Fox:

Hitting a wall of bipartisan opposition to placing a price on carbon, even if just in the utility sector, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Thursday unveiled a narrow, limited energy bill that contains no cap and trade plan.

Add this to all of Al Gore's current woes.  This is worse than a bad massage.

"Unfortunately this Congress, we don't have a single Republican," Reid told reporters, as he outlined a 4-pronged plan that increases the liability cap for damage incurred from the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as, new oil rig safety regulations; converts the diesel fleet to natural gas; legislates the HOME STAR energy efficiency program which provides homeowners financial incentives to purchase energy efficient products; and invests in the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

Reid said he has 60 votes for the scaled-back legislation, though details of the BP portion of the bill were not yet clear. The HOME STAR legislative component has Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-ME, as a co-sponsor, though, and Reid said Republicans have supported the other provisions of his plan.

Moderate Sen. Ben Nelson, D-NE, a cap and trade skeptic said he expects the new Reid bill to pass.

While the leader is punting on climate change legislation for now, he made it clear he and other Democrats would continue to try to rally support for a price on carbon, but it is not clear how the math would change in the Senate that would enable Reid to get 60 votes to break a filibuster.
Still, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who has worked on climate change legislation for more than a year, promised, "Let me be crystal clear, this legislation he has proposed doesn't replace climate change legislation or comprehensive energy legislation," adding that President Obama called him before a Democratic Caucus meeting on energy Thursday afternoon promising to step up efforts to find support for a broader bill.

While Republicans stood unanimously against any bill that priced carbon, it is important to note that coal state Democrats and others opposed the effort, as well.

COMMENT:  We do need an energy policy that will develop new sources of energy and eliminate our dependence on foreign, often hostile countries.  But we're not going to get a thoughtful energy program unless we base it on real science and engineering, not fantasies, and unless there's an understanding that the American economy must not be further damaged, just to satisfy the demands of environmental militants. 

July 23,  2010