Global Warming Is A Full-Fledged Political Issue

It's been remarkable, the degree to which climate change and global warming have crossed the Rubicon from a supposed whacked-out concern of the far-left fringe into an urgent issue that warrants the attention of Congress. It took a former Vice President to push it into the mainstream, but it's now absolutely made official Washington take notice. The Speaker of the House created a special select Committee on climate change, chaired by Ed Markey of Massachusetts. Yesterday they passed an energy bill which cuts subsidies to Big Oil, which at least has the potential of creating higher gas prices (not because oil companies can't afford to spend their own money to drill for their product, but out of spite and a need for ever-greater profit margins), but they did it anyway, even with Michigan's John Dingell at the head of the Energy Committee. Global warming (as well as the need for energy independence) certainly played a part in that calculation.

Moreover, corporate America appears to be getting the message, understanding that if it's a big issue to their consumers, it needs to be a big issue to them. Exxon, at least rhetorically, has taken steps to cut ties to global warming skeptics, which is bigger than it sounds, because removing that impediment of questioning the science will allow the political will to effect change to be stronger. And then there's this total bombshell:

Ten major U.S. corporations are joining environmental groups to press President George W. Bush and Congress to address climate change more rapidly.

The coalition, including Alcoa Inc., General Electric Co., DuPont Co. and Duke Energy Corp., plans to publicize its recommendations on Monday, a day ahead of the president's annual State of the Union address, the Natural Resources Defense Council said.

The group, known as the United States Climate Action Partnership, also includes Caterpillar Inc., PG&E, the FPL Group, PNM Resources Inc., BP America Inc. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

"Caterpillar believes in the need for a market-based approach to the aggressive development of current and future clean technologies that reduce emissions and sustain the environment," Chief Executive Jim Owens said in a statement.

The group will call for a nationwide limit on carbon dioxide emissions that would lead to reductions of 10 percent to 30 percent over the next 15 years, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

I could say something about polluters now demanding that the federal government clean up the mess they've been making for almost a century, but I'd rather just welcome them aboard. And I think they've finally internalized the fact that there's money to be made in fighting global warming. Alternative energy research will only grow as a sector in the coming years. Carbon capture and sequestration is a field that is completely untapped. And if capitalism is the reason for this change, so be it; there's no reason why people shouldn't be rewarded for helping bring solutions to the table.

There are now multiple plans to combat climate change out there as proposals for legislation. This is actually happening. Two years ago I would have been shocked to hear a word about this. There's news that the President will even mention climate change in the State of the Union, albeit in a kind of toothless way.

Bush will also likely address climate change in his annual speak to Congress next week. Sources familiar with White House plans on Tuesday said Bush will call for a massive increase in U.S. ethanol usage and tweak climate-change policy, but will stop short of pushing for mandatory emissions caps.

Again, like in the health care debate, I don't want to pat Republicans on the head for seeing something so obvious like signs that the world is heating up. But it's clear that merely saying the words "climate change" or "global warming" in the State of the Union will have a tremendous impact on keeping the momentum going for real policy shifts. Probably not in the next couple years, at least not at the executive level. But it's on the table for 2008, and in the minds of the voters as they hit the polls. That's remarkable, given where we were just a couple years ago. And it's a testament to how the progressive movement is becoming successful in pushing progressive policy issues into the mainstream.