The AP reports:
The economic free fall gripping the nation may bring down one of the main environmental objectives: capping the greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming.
Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate, and both presidential candidates, continue to rank tackling global warming as a chief goal next year. But the focus on stabilizing the economy probably will make it more difficult to pass a law to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. At the very least, it will push back when the reductions would have to start.
As one Republican senator put it, the green bubble has burst.
“Clearly it is somewhere down the totem pole given the economic realities we are facing,” said Tom Williams, a spokesman for Duke Energy Corp., an electricity producer that has supported federal mandates on greenhouse gases.
Just months ago, chances for legislation passing in the next Congress and becoming law looked promising. . . But the most popular remedy for slowing global warming, a mechanism know as cap-and-trade, could put further stress on a teetering economy.
Not long ago, it was fashionable to mock the idea that we shouldn’t damage the economy to fight climate change. Now, people are realizing that having a strong economy might be pretty important after all.
BONUS: For sheer economic idiocy, it’s hard to beat this:
Other Democrats, however, see a cap-and-trade bill — and the government revenues it would generate from selling permits — as an engine for economic growth. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama supports auctioning off all permits, using the money to help fund alternative energy.
“If you see this as a job creation opportunity for the U.S. to develop the products that are then sold around the world, then you should be optimistic about what the impact of passage would mean for the American economy,” said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass.
They want to auction the privilege to continue doing business. Yeah, that’s going to be a big economic driver.
(Via Instapundit.)
Internet Scofflaw 