Rancor Marks Opening Senate Debate on Climate Plan

The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee began hearings on its version of a climate change bill amid rancorous debate, the Washington Post reported. Wrote the Post: "The scene was set for a battle over best estimates. The shift, which has taken place everywhere from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the most liberal environmental groups, has prompted an array of competing studies aimed at predicting what will happen if the United States comes up with a means of charging industries for creating the emissions linked to global warming. The answer to that question is based on complex calculations projecting years into the future--the interpretation of which is influenced by each side's underlying beliefs. And it promises to define the debate on Capitol Hill for the next several months."

At the hearing, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said, according to the New York Times: "When the starting gun sounded on the clean energy race, the United States stumbled. But I remain confident that we can make up the ground." But not everyone is ready to rush to judgment. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, for example, who is considered by some a potential Republican vote for climate change legislation, noted that the committee was moving too quickly on a complex bill that few understand. The Times quoted him as saying: "Why are we trying to jam down this legislation now? Wouldn't it be smarter to take our time and do it right?"

- Related stories also appeared in Dow Jones Newswires and Washington Times, Oct. 28.