Some time over the next few weeks, the US House of Representatives is likely to vote on what Barack Obama and others have described as an historic bill that would sharply reduce American carbon emissions. The headline looks good. The reality is not so flattering.
On the surface, its objectives are impressive. The bill, brokered by Henry Waxman, the hard-working Democrat from California and chairman of the House energy committee, would be the first concrete step by the world’s largest polluter to wean itself off hydrocarbons.
