I watched an interesting episode of Frontline last night regarding US policies on climate change, from 1988 through 2007.

When Bush jr. was up against Green Gore, he made the statement that he was in favor of mandatory emission caps. Following his appointment of the head of the EPA, and her stand in Paris that the US was in favor, policies began to change, from the office of the VP, Cheney.

First and foremost, a paid-for government analysis of local effects of climate change was squashed. Taken out of every government index, and removed from the net. No one wanted every american to realize just how personally they would be affected.

The push was to consume more oil, at any cost. The premise was that the economy could not afford climate change caps on CO2 emissions.

But where does the US stand today? Yes, in 8 years the cost of oil has tripled and is continuing to climb over 120 a barrel. (that's always figured in US dollars) While US society has been encouraged to pursue more horsepower, and less mpg than 20 years ago, our contribution to CO2 in the atmosphere has continued to grow.

The consumer is left with not much alternative...updating and upgrading anything that consumes oil is pricey and alternative fuels are not readily available. If climate change had been properly addressed 8 years ago as promised, many more alternatives would be available to the average consumer.

Instead, we watch our budgets shrink as the cost of gas and heating fuel eats away more and more of those extras...those extras that paid for a lot of service position jobs.

One sector first and hard hit is the pet industry. I spoke with a neighbor that can't afford to spay her cat because of the high cost of heating fuel. The shelters here are overrun with pets turned over because their owners can no longer afford them.

Folks aren't really complaining enough about the oil situation. After all, we need the fuel for the cars and some need it to heat their homes..but the end of the month the extras start to shrink when the money just isn't there. Folks that had good credit charge it at the end of the month, but with the price of fuel still rising, that leaves them even shorter the next month, headed towards disaster.

Some folks might say that the higher costs will be good for the environment, as folks will use less. I don't think this is a good solution, as the minimum needed for work, travel and heating would still be more than the atmosphere can take. The solution lies with alternative energy (not bio fuel, please, it cost more energy to produce than is gained, and folks need that food!). Yes, I am talking about those ugly windmills, those dams, those solar panels. Underground homes, which use thermal mass and are protected from high winds, need to be promoted more heavily.

At any rate, I don't see much gain with any of the US presidential candidates in the climate change arena. Obama might be the most pliable to alternative strategies, so I guess I will be rooting for him.