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Editorial: Good idea, little else
STORY TOOLS 
More from OpinionOn a day when he knew whatever he said would be drowned out by Pope Benedict's visit, President Bush called for a complete halt in the growth of greenhouse-gas emissions by 2025 and even sooner for power plants.
But no details were offered on how he would accomplish that, other than the optimistic hope of innovations yet to come. Mr. Bush recited some existing measures, such as a planned 40 percent boost in fuel economy and biofuels and ethanol use. But the former is yet to come, and ethanol's questionable effect on greenhouse emissions is outweighed by its cost to taxpayers and its disruption of the food supply.
He did say that he would be willing to commit to a binding international agreement on greenhouse gases if China and India would do the same, but that's unlikely to happen during the last year of his presidency.
Mr. Bush may have chosen to speak now because the major industrial economies will gather Friday in Paris to debate a common approach to climate change. He may also hope to influence the Senate, which will take up in June a bill calling for a 20 percent reduction in emissions by 2025 through mandatory standards.
On the key issue of climate change, the public, then, is confronted by two leaps into the unknown:
Mr. Bush's faith that new technologies will arise and that some mix of incentives and rules will be arrived at.
And the faith of Congress that mandatory emissions controls, severe enough to reach their ambitious goal, will not raise prices, cost jobs or damage the economy. Neither prospect is particularly reassuring.
Posted by shaver_one on April 21, 2008 at 11:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bush is simply trying to save his drowning legacy.
Posted by sslocal on April 21, 2008 at 1:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Got a crystal ball shaver? If not, your just being cynical.
Posted by del on April 21, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am quite surprised Bush's handlers let him speak of such things. I'm sure it left a bitter taste in his mouth
Posted by shaver_one on April 21, 2008 at 7:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not a crystal ball, ss. Tarot Cards.
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