Bush Climate Plan 'Too Bad'

President Bush's new climate change policy announced yesterday is "too little, too slow, too late," writes Bryan Walsh of Time. Bush outlined a plan to gradually rein in the growth of US greenhouse gas emissions by 2025—but rejected mandatory international carbon emissions caps unless they also bind China and India.

"While it's heartening to see Bush actually name a goal, his new proposal is virtually meaningless. Without hard carbon caps, climate change will not be defeated," writes Walsh. Caps "drive investment toward energy efficiency and alternative power—and anything that allows businesses and consumers to escape the cost of carbon. Suddenly being green goes from a virtue to an economic necessity." (More greenhouse gases stories.)