Climate Change Bill Hits Senate With Little Chance For SuccessThe Senate climate change bill has come forth Wednesday after many months of bickering and having a main sponsors drop it. Senators John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts, and Joe Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, presented a climate and energy package designed to limit climate change and promote clean energy jobs. Kerry explained how essential the climate change bill is and how it needs to be passed quickly. But one of the vote-getting goodies in the climate bill is expanded off-shore drilling -- a provision that could immediately backfire considering the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Not a good climate for changeNegotiations with special interest groups by Kerry and Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, on the climate and energy bill appeared to be humming along until last month. Graham abruptly withdrew his support of the energy legislation under pressure from GOP true believers. Right wing enforcers were upset that Graham may are giving Democrats payday installment loans of Republican support. Graham gave an oblique reference to immigration politics as an excuse. But potential Republican votes the climate change bill needs to pass may have gone out the window along with Graham.

Clean energy stained by oilWritten to the bill was incentives to increase domestic offshore drilling right after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico erupted last month. The New York Times says that rather than providing for a broad expansion of offshore drilling, the Kerry-Lieberman bill will end up giving coastal states the right to veto any drilling plan that could possibly cause environmental or economic harm. Graham was a part of the original drafting of the oil drilling provision.

Energy legislation and a large crowdThe Senate climate change bill has attracted a swarm of lobbyists. Millions have been spent by oil companies to derail the climate and energy package. Clean energy producers in low-carbon nuclear power, natural gas or wind and solar power have been trying to enrich themselves with the Senate climate bill. Reuters reports that green energy utilities like FPL Group, Duke Energy and Exelon have lobbied alongside environmental groups for the climate change bill, along with General Electric, a manufacturer of clean coal and natural gas systems for power plants and wind turbines.

Clean energy, green jobsKerry's presentation of the Senate climate change bill had along with it a blog on the Huffington Post asking for public support. Kerry says the climate and energy bill package will create nearly 2 million new green energy jobs, develop new products, and support the research and development required to help the U.S. maintain leadership in the global economy. He also explains that this specific climate bill would reduce the deficit by $21 billion in nine years.

Climate change in the Senate?Kerry says it’s long overdue for The US to lead on climate change. He says he’ll mount a “full court press” to pass the energy legislation in 2010. But Kerry wants to add a lot more pressure to a Congress that happens to be paralyzed from dealing with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, immigration reform, financial reform, an upcoming Supreme Court nomination battle and a sputtering economic recovery.

Citations

The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/science/earth/13climate.html

Reuters reports

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1219978020100512?type=marketsNews

Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/transforming-our-power_b_573303...