The USA Today editorial board goes on the record in support of cap-and-trade legislation and bold action to combat climate change:

Reasonable people can disagree about how bad global warming will eventually be if nothing is done, and some of the doomsday scenarios might well be overblown. But virtually all climate scientists concur that it's a dire enough threat that the wise course of action is to sharply curb use of carbon-based fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

Ideally, that would happen without raising costs to consumers or causing some job loss, but that's a little like saying it would be nice to go to heaven without doing what's necessary to get there. Solar, wind, nuclear and virtually all lower-emission energy alternatives will cost more, at least initially. The only sure way to move from traditional fuels to a greener mix anytime soon is to begin making it more expensive to continue on the current path and let the market work out the most effective way to do it...

To combat climate change and promote clean energy, the House passed a cap-and-trade bill in June on a 219-212 vote that demonstrated how controversial the measure is. The Senate is waiting to take it up sometime after health care, and it won't be easy. Every Republican on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee boycotted the session when the panel approved a bill this month.

The House plan certainly needs improvement. It is stuffed with favors for well-connected lobbies, a distasteful reminder of Congress' inability to focus sharply on the national interest. And critics claim consumer costs would be in the range of $3,000 or $4,000 a year per household. But the neutral, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office paints a more manageable picture.

Read the full editorial at USAToday.com.