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Lindsey Graham's Reality Check

March 2, 2010

A number of influential senators, such as North Dakota Democrat Byron Dorgan, have made it plain that they want Congress to forget about passing legislation limiting emissions of greenhouse gases that trap heat and alter the climate.

Pass an "energy-only" bill, Dorgan and others argue. Legislation that includes, say, a national renewable portfolio standard would push the ball forward on low-carbon energy, sideline the Wall Street sharks poised to feast on carbon allowance markets, and make for a notable bipartisan achievement in a city that needs to rediscover the art of cross-aisle deal-making.

Senator Lindsey Graham, with his pointed comment about passing a "half-assed" energy bill, has little use for the "energy-only" notion. In providing a necessary reality check, the South Carolina Republican pointed out that the squeaky clean technologies stand little chance of out-muscling the carbon-heavy incumbents oil and coal unless oil and coal no longer can use the atmosphere as a free garbage can.

Graham’s reality check, offered in Thomas Friedman’s New York Times column of February 27, deserves to be reprinted in its entirety: "The technology doesn’t make sense until you price carbon. Nuclear power is a bet on cleaner air. Wind and solar is a bet on cleaner air. You make those bets assuming that cleaning the air will become more profitable than leaving the air dirty, and the only way it will be so is if the government puts some sticks on the table — not just carrots. The future economy of America and the jobs of the future are going to be tied to cleaning up the air, and in the process of cleaning up the air this country becomes energy independent and our national security is greatly enhanced."

Graham has it right. A price on carbon is the game changer essential for setting in motion economic drivers essential for rewriting America’s energy playbook.