The Waxman-Markey energy and climate bill is certainly not “da bomb.”  At best, it’s a B+.

Then again, it is not a total bomb, as some think.  So you don’t have to be Dr. Strangelove — or the bill’s mother — to love it.  You just have to compare it to the alternative (i.e. utter failure and business as usual emissions).

Few people, I think, realize everything that is in it or what it might accomplish.  The most thorough analysis that I’ve seen is by the World Resources Institute (see their bill summary here, quantitative analysis here).

WRI has an interesting projection of what would be achieved by the Waxman-Markey discussion Draft (WM-DD) released on March 31, 2009 [click to enlarge]:

I hadn’t blogged on this sooner because WRI’s explanation of the methods and assumptions (here) are a tad opaque, but here are the (fairly credible) Key Findings:

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Sorry for the 3-hour hiatus!

The dirty coal folks are still trying to prove they can be as musical as a Coal Miner’s Daughter.  The clean coal carolers got sent home (see “You won’t believe your ears: Frosty the Coalman, Clean Coal Night, Deck the Halls with Clean Coal).  Now they are trying again.  This post was first published by Think Progress.

The coal industry has taken incredible pains to make coal seem “clean,” “affordable,” and even “adorable.” In December, the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity notoriously launched a campaign featuring animated lumps of coal singing Christmas carols.  Now, the West Virginia Coal Association has posted six “Coal is West Virginia Ringtones.” Among the tunes are the “New Orleans Mix,” “Male Voice Choir (Up Tempo Mix),” and “Gospel Mix.” A sampling of the lyrics:

Coal is West Virginia,
Coal is me and you.
Coal is West Virginia,
We’ve got a job to do.
Coal is energy,
Coal is energy,
We need energy!

Loretta Lynn, it ain’t.