Waxman-Markey bill to be voted on 6/26

The discussion over this bill is roaring through the blogosphere like Niagara Falls. 1Sky is dedicating much of its content. It is frontpage news at Grist.org. But what is weird is that MSN, CNN, Bloomberg News, and the NYTimes are all eerily silent on this issue. That surprises me because this bill has been heralded by Al Gore as one of the most important pieces of legislation that our generation will see.

The official title of the bill is the Waxman-Markey Climate and Energy bill. It is also referred to as the American Clean Energy and Security Act, H.R. 2454. It passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee in May and now it is going before the US House of Representatives for a vote. After that it will be sent to the Senate. If you were to print the bill out it would take several small trees as it weights in at a hefty 946 pages. It is as far reaching in scope as you can imagine. After all it is making up for over 20 years of missed opportunities and eight years of industrial dominance in DC.

The best explanation for the bill that I could find was written by Kate Sheppard at Grist.org: Everything you always wanted to know about the Waxman-Markey energy/climate bill—in bullet points. It’s worth scanning through the breakdown to at least have a general idea of what is going to be voted on.

After all, don’t you want to look somewhat smart at cocktail hour tomorrow and next week?