Do you blame us for getting a little tipsy back in April when Congressional Democrats released the draft "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009” bill, then feeling the effects of it days later when the buzz wore off?  It was hard not to when right out of the gates Representative Henry Waxman of California (who along with Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts has driven this legislation) was saying stuff like, "This legislation will create millions of clean energy jobs, put America on the path to energy independence, and cut global warming pollution."

But will it.....?

Which makes today a pretty enticing day to keep your eyes on D.C.  If all goes as planned, the House of Representatives will vote on the Waxman/Markey bill - essentially a 1,200-page price tag on carbon emissions.  Because that's about it.  According to analysis from the EPA, the "American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009" will "reduce the amount of renewable energy deployed in the United States relative to business-as-usual, increase the amount of coal-fired electricity generation relative to 2005 levels, and provide no incentive for a move to cleaner cars."  And that's not all - fellow blogger and trusted expert on the Waxman/Markey bill, Jesse Jenkins at WattHead has waded through the B.S since the first draft of this bill and provided thourough research and analysis on its shortcomings which we reccomend you check out for context. 

There are two schools of thought to consider today - each wonderfully examined by two of our nations best newspapers.  The importance of acting now because any action is better than no action or the danger in settling too soon for something that falls short of ideal.  We tend to agree with the later in this case though we've typically been a proponent of the former.  Let us know what you think, and stay tuned for more on this in the weeks to come, including what and how this will effect our region

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