So the American Clean Energy and Security Act passed the U.S. House by a 219 to 212 vote Friday evening, making headlines, earning praise, and inviting scorn.
Is it a good bill? It is enough? Does it measure up to Obama's campaign promises?
"The importance of this bill cannot be understated," said Ryan Schryver, clean energy advocate at Clean Wisconsin. "We are proud both of our representatives who stood up for clean energy by voting for this bill, as well as for the role that Wisconsin played in passing this historic legislation."
Advocates call the bill to cut global warming pollution and increase the nation's commitment to renewable energy and energy efficiency the most important piece of federal environmental legislation in over thirty years.
But MoveOn has circulated a poll, asking its members if they should fight the bill and demand it be fixed. MoveOn organizers claim "Big Oil and Coal lobbyists ... weakened the bill terribly - it now falls far short of President Obama's campaign vision to transition America's economy to clean energy and create millions of new jobs.
"In fact, the bill repeals a key part of the Clean Air Act and doesn't do nearly enough to shift America to renewable energy - so instead of a boom in solar and wind, the bill locks us into dirty coal power for another generation."
So what's the truth? Yale Environment 360 (a publication of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies) tried to find out. Yale 360 interviewed 11 prominent energy and environment experts and asked them for their version of the Waxman-Markey lowdown.
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