When it comes to this particular climate legislation, bad is worse than nothing. In its current form, WM includes far too many giveaways to large polluters for there to be any possibility of getting major changes later. The companies will become rapidly addicted to the gifts and defend them with all of their political power.

Polluting our common atmosphere might be inevitable using current technology, but it should come with a cost that encourages the polluter to minimize the amount of waste that is dumped. The government should serve as a pass through fee collector – the atmosphere is owned by everyone with a set of lungs and a right to life since breathing is the most basic life function. Therefore, each one of us should get an equal share of the waste dumping fees (okay, call it a tax, I don’t care) to spend as we desire.

Poor people will pay far less because they often walk to work or take public transit, live in small homes with less lighting, heating and entertainment devices, eat less food and buy fewer goods. They will, however, share in the effect of cleaner air and water and in the collected waste fees for those inevitable emissions.

Of course, atomic fission, my favorite technology, the one I have invested a lot of time and money to promote will benefit. Guess that makes me a vested interest and a shill, but names can never hurt me.

By the way, when lots of well established polluters line up in favor of a bill, you should get suspicious and start covering your wallet. When the marketing types begin touting their greenness, you should get really suspicious and dig a bit deeper into their economic motives.

Rod Adams
Publisher, Atomic Insights
Host and producer, The Atomic Show Podcast