I know we’re all talking about Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett and Mark Sanford (more on him later) and if they’re lucky we’re still talking Iran. Quickly though: Today Congress is voting on Waxman-Markey, which is the big energy/climate change legislation making it’s way through Congress. President Obama is urging it’s passage but the whole bill is in doubt, or could be weakened dramatically.

I’ll be honest: The bill is far from perfect and has sparked a civil war among environmentalists. Some see it as a critical first step; others as a big huge letdown. Mother Jones has the best rundown on the civil war and why there could be better bills.

I’ve decided I support it, for two reasons: (1) Al Gore told me to (video below) and (2) I have decided, perhaps naively, to believe that some of these moves by the Obama administration are incremental, foot in the door, slippery slope moves that are intentionally nuanced. This bill would give us a cap and trade program that’s inadequate to actually end global warming, but once we have it we can build on it. My hope is that we’re doing exactly what Republicans say we are: instituting seemingly reasonable plans that will actually have to be funded in perpetuity and

So, here’s Al Gore’s pitch:

If you support the bill you can go to this site, right now, and make a VERY EASY PHONE CALL that could actually make some impact – I’m told by friends in DC that various offices are really counting calls on this one.

Big picture I think that only a benevolent dictator can actually stop global warming, and that New Yorker piece on James Hansen depressed me. But this is a step that COULD be important: I’m calling, and if you agree you should too. Go!

[And yes, all this goes out the window when North Korea bombs Hawaii on July 4th, but we'll cross that fiery bridge when we get to it.]

About The Author
Ben Wyskida is a writer, activist, conscientious hedonist and political communications strategist living in Brooklyn. - Visit Ben's site.