The American Clean Energy and Security Act, headed for a vote in the U.S. Senate, fuels itself with wishful thinking and panders to special interest groups wanting the nation to go green no matter the cost and without reasonable expectations for good results.

The cap-and-trade legislation has already passed the U.S. House. If it clears the Senate, North Dakota will pay a higher share of the cost, making a greater sacrifice for an illusion of climate control than many other states. The state's well-placed members of the Senate, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, should do everything in their power to stop the Waxman-Markey climate and energy bill.

The legislation as it stands caps greenhouse gases and requires emissions be reduced 17 percent by 2020 and 42 percent by 2030. The technology capturing carbon at coal-fired power plants, the primary source of electricity, especially in the Midwest, does not yet exist at the commercial level. We think, and the bill's proponents assume, the technology will be developed, but reality can be a much different thing. There's also the belief that much of the nation can shift dependence from coal-fired plants to alternative energy sources, including nuclear power. Those industries are not mature enough to fill the gap at this point, and it will take decades for that to happen.

Coal must have a continued significant role in providing power for the nation. The cap-and-trade bill does not fully acknowledge the necessary role of coal and, worse, would hinder energy production by coal-fired plants, thereby creating a drag on the economy.

The revenue generated for the federal government as a result of the existing cap-and-trade bill would be huge. During the years from 2012 to 2025, those revenues would go into the U.S. Treasury to be spent largely on social programs. It leverages resources from states like North Dakota primarily for the benefit of the nation's coastal states. To make coal a cash cow for Washington at the expense of people paying home electrical bills, and of rural states like North Dakota, which are rich in natural resources but lean in value-added economic development, is inequitable and unfair.

The American Clean Energy and Security Act runs more than 1,000 pages. It contains many good things aimed at making the United States more environmentally responsible and energy self-sufficient. But those sections of the bill that deal with coal fail to grasp the reality of the nation's energy use and future need. The progress being made in making plants cleaner and more efficient fails to make a point with environmental groups and their agents. That's unfortunate.

North Dakota's sole member of the U.S. House, Earl Pomeroy, voted against the bill. Dorgan has said he will not support the cap-and-trade bill now in Congress. Conrad and Dorgan should immediately stand up and be counted among those who will vote no on cap-and-trade. North Dakota's congressional delegation should now aggressively use their hard-earned influence to stop the legislation before it does serious damage to the livelihood of the people of North Dakota.