Graham walks but climate bill still "dirty energy" legislation

South Carolina Senator, Lindsay Graham, may have taken his climate bill toys and gone home, but the impact is less relevant than the fact that the potential bill itself is a feeding frenzy for the nuclear industry. As quoted on BusinessGreen.com, Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps said of the bill that: "he saw as excessive support for the nuclear industry in the proposed legislation. He argued that the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed by the House of Representatives last June represents a better option. "The House Bill is not perfect by any means but it's so much better than the Senate Bill," he said, adding that the alternative Cantwell-Collins draft bill also offered an alternative approach.

"Kamps, who called the Kerry bill "dirty energy" legislation, said that the environmental movement is increasingly turning to state-level initiatives to address climate change issues, as Congress proves increasingly gridlocked. "In fact, Congress wants to intervene in state and regional activities," he complained. "In Kerry-Lieberman-Graham, they were going to dismantle the state and regional level cap and trade initiatives."