The House of Representatives passed a climate bill the other day. It is a big deal. There was plenty of horse-trading, in order to secure a majority that, unfortunately, served mostly to weaken the bill. Having said that, it is a seminal moment in the history of our country, and will, I think, affect the debate on climate change everywhere. We really do lead the world, whether we like it or not.

The bill says that from now on, we will cap carbon gasses. Companies will have to pay when they pollute. This, according to market theory, will make companies find ways to cut their costs as they save the planet. Sounds great to me, and uses the thing that everyone agrees, is the most effective way to go, the free market. There, really is agreement on the efficacy of the free market; the only disagreement is how much regulation there should be. This current economic downturn, {how much nicer that sounds than recession}, seems to make a case that some is needed. In the words of my father, "you have to have a lock on the bike to keep the honest people honest".

So what's my problem? Well, the vote in the house was 219 to 211. 211 Congress people voted against the bill. Certainly, some of that number, voted no because the bill didn't go far enough. But 200 or so, voted against the bill because they don't believe in climate change. That's like my Aunt Rose not believing in restaurants. One republican house member stood and said that the whole thing, the warming of the planet, is a hoax. He got a huge round of cheers and applause. Can they really believe that thousands of scientists, and mountains of evidence and research are all part of a hoax that someone, or ones, is perpetrating on the world? Really? Or is it inconvenient politically for them, and the special interests that seek the status quo.

This reminds me of Y2K. Remember that? The turn of the century, and the chance that the whole world would melt down because the computers weren't ready. Governments and companies, big and small, spent billions to secure, and upgrade their systems. We learned much as we tried to get ready. The big day came and went with none of the doomsday scenarios coming true. Yet there has been no talk of wasted time, effort and money. That's because we saw big improvements, as a nation, in our productivity, that were directly related to the preparations we made for the crisis of Y2K.

How about trying that with climate change? We all know we have to do. Everyone in Congress, despite his or her vote, knows we can't continue as we are, and do nothing. Lets all agree that there is the need to change the way we generate energy. Oil presents so many problems, both environmentally, and geo-politically. The mullahs in Iran, the Russians, Hugo Chavez and all the other petrol states are much easier to deal with when oil is cheap. The only way oil gets cheap is less demand. That means conservation and new sources of energy. If it turns out that climate change was a hoax, and we do these things, we will be well positioned to move into the future. Our children and grandchildren will appreciate it. In New York today a counter in the style of the national debt clock, began keeping track of the amount of greenhouse gasses we are putting into the atmosphere. The rate is 800 metric tons a second. I don't know about you but I believe.

Have a nice night, T

PS. 4 more soldiers died in Iraq today. On the day we started to get out. My thoughts are with their families.