The "cap-and-trade" legislation is gathering momentum in Congress ... but the "cap-and-tax" skeptics also are growing.

National polling now shows significant deterioration in popular support for this sweeping legislative proposal based on science that is anything but "settled."

Early evolution of the proposed legislation showed a significant increase in power costs across the country; residential and manufacturing electricity costs would increase and, for instance, the competitive balance between electric furnace producers and integrated producers would be altered.

Since, in the near term, no one forecasts changing our reliance on coal-fired power plants, it will be argued that electricity producers will solve their carbon emission problems by carbon capture and sequestration (CCS).

If ever a pseudo-scientific pipe dream was wished...