mccain

When dollar figures reach into the millions, eyes tend to widen. Wow! That's a lot of money.

When they reach into the trillions, eyes tend to glaze over. Wow! That's just too big a number to comprehend.

The International Energy Agency said Thursday the world must spend $45 trillion over the next 40 years or so on an "energy technology revolution" if it is to find alternatives to oil and slow or stop global warming.

That's something like $3 billion a day, which brings the enormity of the task into focus. Somewhat. For context, Congress has proposed a U.S. budget that amounts to spending more than $8 billion per day in 2009 ($3 trillion for the whole year).

This spending isn't like a rent check. It doesn't just disappear. It's more like an investment in a new business. This is money put into new industries, new research, new technologies. You can't transform the way we generate energy without paying scientists to study, factory workers to assemble, engineers to operate and construction crews to install. ...

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On the heels of Sen. John McCain's big speech about global warming, the Republican presidential nominee has launched his own organic clothing line.

Or, sort of.

Team McCain (also known as "the campaign" or the folks that schedule, advise, defend and, don't forget, raise money for the candidate) is selling T-shirts ($25) and polo shirts ($50) made from "biodegradable fabric." Also on the shelf: baseball caps or visors ($15) and canvas bags ($20) made from organic cotton. The money goes toward the effort to install McCain in the Oval Office, but the effort means much more than that, both in the world of spin, and to the political dialog. ...

In the parlance of a campaign, that means McCain is promoting his "long-term commitment to providing market-based solutions to climate change and highlighting ways we can all protect our environment."

Each of the new items – reusable mug ($15) and notebook ($8) included – feature a recycling logo.

Democrats, who have been painting McCain as someone who will "recycle" President Bush's unpopular war and economic policies, will no doubt tee up that softball and swing hard. But McCain's new green theme is designed to do exactly the opposite: Distinguish himself from Bush on a key issue that until now has received scant attention on the campaign trail: global warming. ...

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