Email from Jim Hansen to his mailing list:

The answer to the riddle became clear on the train on the way home.  I had puzzled about the continued attraction of Cap&Trade.  Empirical evidence shows that Cap&Trade does not have a prayer of phasing out fossil fuel emissions fast enough to save the planet, e.g., allowing us to phase-out coal-fired power plants.  Clearly there must be people in the Obama administration who understand that.  Yet Cap&Trade is still talked about as if it were something good.  One wonders: do they really believe we have "a planet in peril"?
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On the train I read on politico.com that the number of lobbyists in DC working to influence federal policy on climate change increased in the past few years by 300% to 2,340 lobbyists -- four climate lobbyists for every member of Congress.  At least the alligator shoe business is doing well.  Not too good for alligators, though.
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If democracy does not win this one, if the lobbyists win, perhaps the best we can do for our grandchildren is buy them a ticket to another planet.  Of course, Congress would have to borrow the money from our grandchildren.  But at least we would show that we are giving them some consideration.

Obama’s Climate Rip-off | Steven Milloy

Maybe the economics of Obama’s cap-and-trade rip-off don’t bother you, but the fact that the rip-off will accomplish nothing should give you pause.

Rasmussen Reports Video: Voters Say Media Doesn’t Play It Straight