I hate to say this, but anything is better than nothing at this point. The longer we take to act, the more drastic that action will need to be. At this point, I think the American people are starting to get the message on climate change, and they aren't going to be satisfied with half-measures. These proposals, though they do not come particularly near the eventual goal of adressing the issue head on, are certainly steps in the right direction. They are half-measures, yes... but once this energy bill is passed, and a Democrat takes over the Presidency, then more comprehensive reform will come.

As long as there is agitation out there for real leadership on climate change, we're going to see more legislation, better policy taking root, better ideas gaining traction. This will not be the end of the issue, even if it does pass in a less-than-ideal form now. In the meantime, though, we'll have a few things that we need, like the tighter auto fuel efficiency standards. Better that than nothing. I know we prefer ideals, but this isn't an all-or-nothing proposition right now. Rangel is in a pretty good bargaining position (not to mention the other Detroit legislators) and it's even tougher to get around him with a Presidential veto threat hanging out there.

Of course I want a better bill than this one---- the ethanol/corn issue is a problem, and maintaining the SUV/light truck classification is rotten, we should switch to the Chinese-style FE standards on a per-vehicle basis----- but CAFE standards have been stagnant for so long. We need change and we need it NOW. I have confidence that better days are coming (in a little more than a year, when Bush leaves office!), and greener energy bills are going to be possible.