What to Do if the Climate and Energy Bill Fails

Congressional democrats appear to have not given up on the quest to pass a Climate and Energy Bill before a new Congress comes in next January. However, the likelihood of an extensive cap-and-trade system or carbon tax that adequately addresses the U.S. dependency on fossil fuels is limited due to considerable republican opposition. Today, Grist offers the advice of seven experts on what environmental advocates and lawmakers should focus on in the short term if the bill fails to pass this time around.

The panel includes:

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• Amanda Little, Grist alumnus and author of Power Trip: From Oil Wells to Solar Cells -- Our Ride to the Renewable Future\n
• Ezra Klein, political and policy blogger at The Washington Post\n
• Michael Levi, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations
• Vicki Arroyo, executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center
• Josh Freed, director of the clean energy program at Third Way
• Jesse Jenkins, director of energy and climate policy at the Breakthrough Institute
• Terry Tamminen, former environmental advisor to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, now lecturer and consultant

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Among the many ideas presented by the panel, Amanda Little suggests a hard-line approach to cutting individual's gasoline consumption.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it may be time to forcefully make the case for a gasoline tax (with provisions to protect lower-income Americans and car-dependent professions). A gas tax is widely regarded as political suicide, but the spill may be enough of a game-changer to help make the case for it. The message has to be: The most prudent and patriotic thing Americans can do right now is use less oil. The bill should also aggressively push for other oil-saving measures like further ramping up vehicle efficiency standards and making a much more significant push for public transit.

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Click here to read the full post and see the all the panelists' recommendations.