In an unsurprising move, Senate majority leader Harry Reid made it official this afternoon. He announced he would introduce an “admittedly narrow, limited” energy bill that contains no greenhouse gas provisions and maybe even no renewable electricity mandate. The votes, he said, just weren’t there.

“It’s easy to count to 60,” said Reid, according to Politico. “I could do it by the time I was in eighth grade. My point is this, we know where we are. We know we don’t have the votes.”

Despite tireless climate champion Sen. John Kerry’s  vague assurances that he will keep negotiating for a cap on carbon emissions at some future point in time, Democrats just gave up on the last, best chance to pass a global warming measure anytime soon.  How often does an oil spill Armageddon come along to illustrate why this matters? And the Democrat majority ain’t getting any bigger in November, that’s for sure.

Meanwhile, the rest of the world gets it. For god’s sake, even China — America’s eternally convenient climate punching bag  — is reportedly on the verge of establishing a mandatory carbon trading program by 2015.

Looking for someone to blame for this sad state of affairs? Here are a few options:

1) Beholden Democrats: If Republicans go down in flames together, Dems are the stumbling drunks who wouldn’t know party discipline if it hit them upside the head. A few from states such as Louisiana and Nebraska, beholden to their home-state energy interests, balked at any measures to limit carbon dioxide emissions. Even Sen. Reid screwed things up when he suggested he would make politically convenient (for him) immigration reform a priority over climate. Compared to the House-passed version from a year ago, the failed bill was already watered down to cover only electric utilities — even that would only secure only some 53 Democrat votes. Hence, we can also blame:

2) Promiscuous Republicans: The John Boehners and James Inhofes of the Senate would probably wait until the Earth looked like it belonged in The Day After Tomorrow before voting for a climate bill. But some more moderate GOPers, notably South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe played coy — teasing their support for a compromise that they abandoned in the end.

3) Mr. Clean Energy Revolution himself: Green groups have been torn of late about whether to go attack President Obama’s lame climate campaign or whether to pull their punches for the best hope they’ve got. Obama never gave a rousing speech dedicated to climate change and never pulled out the big guns in lobbying for what was supposedly one of his top policy priorities coming into office, as Dot Earth’s Andy Revkin sums up so well.

4) Greedy Power Companies: After Big Oil and Big Manufacturing eked out a pass from the climate bill in the end — it came down to electric utilities, which represent a major portion of U.S. emissions. Would they go-it-alone? Some executives did in fact negotiate in good faith for a bill they could live with. But, sensing their leverage, they also tried to win major exemptions from existing air pollution rules, making the negotiations a tough pill for liberals to swallow in the end.

5) Big Green vs. Grassy Green? The environmental world is increasingly fractured between two camps (see #4 above). Big Green groups, such as the Environmental Defense Fund, believe the best strategy to win a climate bill is to negotiate politically realistic compromises with energy interests. Grassroots groups such as Greenpeace or 350.org are less willing to settle and believe a push from below is the key missing piece. Both ideally want the same thing in the end, but this division of interests is not helping anyone.

In the end, there is no one person, industry or group who killed this bill. But, I’m honestly disappointed in President Obama for not doing more to back up Sen. Reid. The health care bill and the financial reform bill looked bleak, but in those cases, our leader would not settle for inaction. As always for climate, here’s to next year.

Photo Credit: Sister 72, Flickr User

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Who Killed the Climate Bill?

Government officials are investigating allegations that recent renovations and new builds in Florida, Louisiana and Alabama may be hazardous to health.

Chinese made drywall, imported during the building material shortage in 2005/6 are the homes most likely to be at risk according to the Consumer Safety Commission. The Florida Health Department is investigation over one hundred fifty complaints from homeowners who expressed health problems related to the drywall.

A class-action lawsuit is under-way which alleges this drywall has caused problems in the three states that not only results in property damage but negative health affects too. It is alleged that the composition of the drywall includes high levels of sulfur, which produces acid in the form of Sulphuric acid. It is also believed to be producing noxious gases like carbon disulfide, carbonyl sulfide and hydrogen sulfide. These gases can be identified by the rotten egg small they produce, and are connected to respiratory problems and other health issues.

The lawsuits allege that the imported drywall is causing these health problems which also include headaches, asthma, coughing, dizziness, ear infections and eye irritation to name a few.

In the wake of these problems companies such as Chinese Dryall Experts have sprouted up to offer a solution to home owners suffering from bad drywall.

Damage to the property is thought to be because of the high levels of sulfur which in box gas and liquid form corrodes wiring, copper based pipes and maybe even building fixings. Appliances have failed, home wiring has been declared unsafe and structural elements like steel brackets, braces and nails have also been found to be corroded.

The material shortage arrived as a result of hurricane Katrina. The demand for building supplies was so great in order to rectify the devastation left behind, that suppliers had to import what they couldn’t produce. One of these materials was the drywall made by Knauf Tianjin Ltd. Knauf is a household name in the building trade, having a worldwide presence and profits in the hundreds of millions. They aren’t the only company who imported the drywall though, there were many other companies who did the same, but Knauf always labeled it’s material so was the easiest to identify.

It is estimated that in the period between 2004 and 2007 over one hundred million pounds of this Chinese drywall was imported into the United States and used in home construction. Over thirty seven million of those came though Florida and is believed to have been used here. Current estimates cite that this material may be present in over one hundred thousand homes throughout the state.

The situation isn’t as clear cut as it may seem though, as there has so far been no definitive proof that the health issues are related to the import. It is only subjective proof so far that points the finger in that direction. Tests and studies are still being undertaken in order to find out exactly what is going on.

The situation is still evolving but all evidence collected so far points towards Chinese imported drywall being the cause of both the damage to homes, and the health issues suffered by the occupants.