What a great term. And so well used, I mean, with the last 2-3 years of Bush-hatred from all quarters, the Republicans sure must know a lot about "political sustainability"

check out http://www.envirowiki.info, the knowledge database for environmentalists and activists.

Whine Whine Whine

Democrats have a President and both Houses of Congress...and a near Super Majority.

There is nothing that cannot be passed in the next two years.

If Democrats really wanted to be true to their promises, they would act on January 20, 2009 and keep acting everyday, night and day.

Yet all they do is whine about Sarah Palin and those "Republicans" who are the cause of all their foot dragging (I mean problems).

There's a robust saying that applies here...it's one of my Dad's sayings from his days in the Army during WWII:

Shit or get off the pot.

Well, Democrats?

Texeme.Construct.Questioner

Nope, it's not; except in jabailo's special little world.

The obvious solution to a any kind of carbon tax is to return 90% of it directly to people as lump sums on solstices and equinoxes. No rebates, no tax credits, no gimmicky diversions of money and no denial of any other benefit due to receipt of funds.

The cash payments, like the Alaska permanent fund, will promote carbon emission fees far more effectively than endless lectures by Al Gore and the MIT nude-cheerleading squad (fictional, but it wouldn't help) ever could. People believe in cash.

The fact that they will pay that money back in many little and a few obvious ways will be lost on them once they see that first lump sum check in the mail. Whatever they spend it on only a portion of that is likely to be re-spent on fossil fuels and with minor incentives some of it could be redirected to carbon free energy projects or energy savings investments.

All the complicated gaming is Enron-style accounting to benefit insiders. It's not unlikely with a cap-and-trade scheme that the Republican party will game the system and THEN scream that jobs are being lost and people being taxed to benefit insiders. Think Republican Governor Arnold pretending to be green after colluding with Enron to dump the Democratic governor.

Yes, it's redistributing the wealth; have you opened a paper lately? Wall Street gets most of that already. Time to send some home to the people.

Put the Carbon Back