On the final night of primary season in 2008, President Obama declared, “I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that … this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.” Well, that was a long, long time ago. Today, senators Harry Reid and John Kerry announced that the climate-change and energy-reform legislation that never really had a promising outlook to begin with is now officially dead, for lack of support. The considerably narrowed bill they will push for instead will try not to get too excited “deal with BP and oil spill liability, invest in the manufacturing of natural gas vehicles, create a jobs program formerly called Cash for Caulkers, now called Home Star aimed at increasing home efficiency, and put money back in the Land and Water Conservation Fund.”
