Sen. Robert C. Byrd just issued this statement about the new Senate climate change bill:
“I am glad to see that Senators Kerry and Boxer included some of the provisions I and other Senators recommended related to carbon capture and storage. I am pleased that Senators Boxer and Kerry are placing a greater focus on clean coal technology. While this is an encouraging sign, we have a long way to go on this legislation. Many issues have yet to be addressed. There is still a tough road ahead.”
“I will continue to work with my colleagues to strike a balance that treats West Virginia’s interests fairly as the legislative process moves forward. However, I will actively oppose any bill that would harm the workers, families, industries, or our resource-based economy in West Virginia.”
Subscribe to the Coal Tattoo
Encouraging!
At some point, this intransigence is nothing more than holding the planet hostage to coal.
(You could argue, and Congressman Brad Sherman did, that Wall Street pretty much did the same with your 401K: “Bail us out or else.”)
I heard the Senate bill does include some way to pressure existing coal plants to clean up, perhaps by keeping some EPA authority over CO2 under the Clean Air Act. I know Boxer was lobbied heavily on that issue. My jaded view (but I could be wrong) is that it was included mainly to shore up lagging support from the environmental community. We will see.
Byrd and Rockefeller both make themselves crystal clear: Coal mining profits and jobs trump catastrophic climate change – period.