In a 219-212 vote, the House of Representatives passed on Friday
a climate bill designed to decrease U.S. dependence on oil and
create “green” jobs. It’s now up to the Senate to pass or veto
the American Clean Energy and Security Act, which also proposes
a cap-and-trade system to impose historic limits on U.S.
greenhouse gas emissions. The bill has been tweaked since it was
approved in May by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and
it remains unclear how much progress the Senate will make on the
bill. In it, U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases would be reduced 17 percent by 2020 from 2005
levels. That is less ambitious than the 20 percent initially
sought, but slightly more aggressive than the approximately 15
percent Obama proposed. The legislation sets further pollution
reduction goals — 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050,
with the latter just slightly higher than Obama suggested
[Reuters]. The bill also speeds up the administration of $346
million in stimulus funds for t