Global warming heating up Washington D.C.

There are many billions of dollars at stake. Not since the Wall Street meltdown have we seen such high stakes in the lobbyist-WhiteHouse-Congress axis. From oil to transportation to electricity to corn to solar to your very kitchen and office air conditioning--everything is in play. Costs may rise, pollution may fall...or we go the other direction, preferring ethanol from corn to imported natural gas.

Here's one MSM editorial that trumpets the coming political Armageddon over energy and climate change. I recently blogged about the new alternative energy regs...proposed...that means ripe for favors, lobbying, back-room deals and stupid compromises, perhaps even wise compromises.

A recent Pew Foundation study says American industries will not leave the country if a cap and trade system is enacted to limit greenhouse emissions. That will not stop the opponents of cap and trade from warning about economic disaster.

The climate change war ranges across many battlegrounds. Just recently the polar bear suffered a defeat for its vociferous allies in the U.S. Then there is the question: can the world's top two CO2 producers can reach a deal. That would be the U.S. and China, the top maker and the top buyer among nations, the leaders in resource consumption across most categories from rice to coal. In Asia observers are also watching India closely. It's per capita greenhouse emissions and resources consumption are modest, but the billion-plus population is a huge multiplier, making India a top ten contender in the global warming sport.

And climate talk is a booming business. Next conflab: climate change and the ocean. Starts tomorrow. [poll id="129"] [poll id="127"] [poll id="125"]