Climate Bill & Saving Salmon From Sea Lions

The Climate Bill reveals a divide among the Democrats.

This is The Envrionment Report. I’m Lester Graham.

The chairman of the House Agriculture committee says he’s not going to vote to approve a climate change bill… and most of the ag committee won’t either.

Conventional wisdom in Washington these days is: it’s not a good idea to use food for fuel… so corn ethanol should be replaced by cellulosic ethanol made from crops such as switchgrass. The chairman of the Ag Committee, Democrat Collin Peterson believes the Obama administration and Democratic leaders in Congress are putting rules and legislation in place to put corn ethanol at a disadvantage to cellulosic ethanol. He says they’re forcing changes on corn ethanol makers and farmers that could ruin the future of the biofuels industry.

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Congressman Peterson says he won’t even talk about supporting the Climate Bill until the administration and his fellow-Democrats in Congress change the way they’re dealing with corn ethanol… and he doesn’t thing any of the 46 members of the House Agriculture committee will either.

(((STING)))


This is The Environment Report.

The Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest historically has been a super highway for salmon. But dams, development and pollution have taken their toll on salmon. The fish have declined to the point that several species are endangered. Now the salmon are threatened by another protected species, sea lions. Sadie Babits reports.

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