Four Democratic Lawmakers Suggest Putting Aside Climate Change Measure

Bloomberg News (8/14) reports, "The U.S. Senate should abandon efforts to pass legislation curbing greenhouse-gas emissions this year and concentrate on a narrower bill to require use of renewable energy, four Democratic lawmakers say." Senator Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas described "doing both of them together" as "too big of a lift," and added, "I see the cap-and-trade being a real problem." According to an official at Dow Chemical Co., "which supports the measure," this "resistance by Lincoln and her Senate colleagues undercuts President Barack Obama's effort to win passage of legislation that would cap carbon dioxide emissions and establish a market for trading pollution allowances." Peter Molinaro, the head of government affairs for Dow Chemical, "who is based in Washington," said, "In this town if you split two measures, usually the second thing never gets done."