It’s About Laws, Not Light Bulbs

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http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/opinion/06sun2.html?ref=opinion

The issue of climate change is now in a sad state of political and legislative suspension, awaiting an election, a new president and a new Congress.

The first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s historic decision ordering the regulation of greenhouse gases came and went last week without any action by the administration, forcing state governors and other plaintiffs in the case to return to court to compel a response.

In the Senate, Joseph Lieberman continued to speak hopefully of getting a veto-proof majority for a bill he is co-sponsoring with John Warner to start capping emissions across the entire economy. Yet time is running short to get such an ambitious program right, and in any case, there is no movement in the House.

(snip)
Mr. Gore’s ambition is not just to change individual behavior by getting people to buy energy-saving light bulbs: it is to change policy. Whether he can compete with the public’s preoccupations with war and the economy is unclear, but it is certainly worth the effort.