And who's at the center of it all? Duke Energy's own Jim Rogers, of course!

Here's the deal: Right now, two things are happening in parallel. The first is getting all the attention, but the second is, in practical terms, more significant. Yet the first may screw up the second. Let me explain.

The first thing is, Democrats in the Senate are now talking about passing a limited cap-and-trade system that only covers electric utilities. This is widely seen as a second-best measure, something short of an economy-wide system but better than no CO2 restrictions at all. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), among others, is working on legislative language for such a system (though he has said he's skeptical it can get to 60 votes). Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is apparently going to go for it, including such a system in the coming energy bill, and he's deep in negotiation with various stakeholders about it.

The second thing is, EPA is working on a whole suite of new Clean Air Act regulations. I'm not talking about the much-discussed EPA regulation of greenhouse gases -- I mean tightened standards on traditional ("criteria") air pollutants. The Clean Air Act dictates that EPA regularly revisit pollution standards and update them to reflect the best current science. Needless to say, that wasn't done during the Bush years, so there's a huge backlog of work. Every single criteria pollutant is being revisited. The upshot is, there are tons of new standards either recently released or on their way in the next year or so. (Also relevant are upcoming regulation of coal ash and tightened Clean Water Act standards.)

The utilities see an opening here. Their support will be crucial for getting the energy bill through the Senate. In exchange for their support, they are now asking to be exempted from the EPA's new rules (as they are in Sen. Dick Lugar's [R-Ind.] proposed energy bill). Darren Samuelsohn and Coral Davenport have a great story today on the heated negotiations going on around this issue as we speak.

A deal to exempt utilities from new Clean Air Act rules in exchange for their support for a utility-only cap-and-trade system would be a terrible deal.

Read the rest of this Grist.org article, by David Roberts, here to find out why it would be so bad.

Further reading from Grist.org:

Accept more poison to get less carbon? Kill this crazy idea NOW, by Van Jones

How to make energy programs work better (for free!), by David Roberts

"Cap and trade" is a phrase that's thrown around a lot these day, but what does it mean? This video will help clear things up for you:

If you use makeup, hair dye, antibacterial soap, have a perm ... or know someone who does, you should read this article from Philadelphia's Post Gazette. Here's a snippet:

"The European Union has banned more than 1,000 ingredients from cosmetics, while the United States has banned only 10."

The Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1936 has only two pages that relate to cosmetics, and it has not been updated despite a sea change in the industry. The fact is, the Food and Drug Administration has no authority to make cosmetics companies test products for safety or recall products that are found to be harmful.

Although the average woman uses a dozen personal care products each day that contain a total of 168 chemicals and the average man uses six products containing 85 chemicals, there is no federal regulation of these ingredients.

Many are known carcinogens responsible for childhood and hormone-related cancers, while others have been linked to asthma, birth defects, early puberty, learning disabilities, nervous system disorders and infertility.

Read the entire article, by Marylynn Uricchio, here. The article includes a list of cosmetics and ingredients to avoid.

Something else to think about: Not only can the ingredients in one product be a toxic soup, you have to wonder how they interact with the other products they come in contact with.

From SafeCosmetics.org and the producers of "The story of stuff," I present, "The story of cosmetics." It includes information on how to find non-toxic cosmetics and does a great job explaining how today's cosmetics industry operates:

Are you hair products more like scare products? (And, learn how to make your own!)

One of my favorite cosmetics and personal care companies is The Body Shop. They've insisted on natural ingredients, environmentally friendly and fair-trade practices since before it was cool. And, no, they're not paying me to say that. I'm a long-time customer and fan. Learn more about The Body Shop here:

Some say solar's too expensive, but that's rapidly changing ... especially below the Mason Dixon line when there are six-figure grants up for the taking.

Regionally, Southern states are offering generous tax incentives for using renewable energy sources at residential and commercial levels. Solar is quickly becoming a viable option for the average consumer, but it’s still not without significant up-front cost. A five-kilowatt system with rooftop photovoltaic (PV) panels will initially run around $40,000 out of pocket. But with tax credits, that amount is reduced by $10,000 to $20,000, depending on your home state. Plus, you can start recouping money by selling power to utilities on a monthly basis.

Read the entire Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine article, by Jedd Ferris, here.

Here's the governor of Tennessee talking, in May 2009, about the facts and figures behind solar energy investments:

Further reading: Google Energy’s big green power purchase -- Grist.org