The Real Climate Price Tag

The Senate debates a global warming bill this week — and its backers say it's made to save the planet.

It is huge legislation that would cap CO2 emissions and — to fight climate change — would radically reshape the US economy and energy use.

No one thinks it's going to pass this year. But Barack Obama and John McCain both favor something like it. Action is coming.

Critics say it will cripple the American economy — put us on a par with Haiti and Somalia. Backers say we must do it, and it won't break the bank.

This hour, On Point: Climate crunch time, and the urgent economics of saving the planet.Guests:

Andrew Revkin, environment reporter for The New York Times, he writes the paper's Dot Earth blog and is author of "The North Pole Was Here: Puzzles and Perils at the Top of the World."

William Nordhaus, professor of economics, Yale University, member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers in the Carter Administration and author of the new book "A Question of Balance: Weighing the Options on Global Warming Policies."

Joseph Romm, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and editor of climateprogress.org, he was a top official at the Department of Energy in the Clinton Administration. He is author of "Hell and High Water: Global Warming--The Solution and The Politics."