The Senate voted to overturn Senator Murkowski's (R-Alaska) resolution to take away the EPA's ability to regulate carbon emissions that might endanger public health.
There was quite a lot of discussion, as you might imagine. http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2010/06/oil-spill-invades-epa-debate.html
Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California) associated the BP Gulf oil spill to the necessity of regulating carbon emissions. Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) repudiated the idea that the oil spill was related to the regulation of carbon emissions.
Senator Barasso (R-Wyoming) stated that Democrats were wanting to give up all Congressional oversite of the EPA (which is unnacountable to voters and only accountable to the President).
Senator Boxer replied that the EPA's scientists should be making these decisions.
The problem is that the EPA has been a political tool in the past.
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4776
http://www.examiner.com/x-9111-SF-Environmental-Policy-Examiner~y2009m6d26-The-politics-if-not-the-science-is-settled-at-the-EPA-Alan-Carlin-global-warming-and-trouble
The other problems?
First, global warming is not a proven science. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124597505076157449.html
Second, proposals such as in the Cap-and-Trade bills would have essentially no effect on our climate (even assuming that global warming is true). Climatologist Knappenberger from World Climate Report states that Cap-and-Trade would lower global temperatures less than one-fifth of one degree Farenheit. http://www.masterresource.org/2010/05/the-american-power-act-a-climate-dud/
And finally, the economic effects would be catastrophic to our country. New EPA regulations would cost businesses thousands and thousands of dollars---and hundreds of hours of work. And this is prior to the increased costs of energy that would occur with the Cap-and-Trade bill.
http://politicopolitico.blogspot.com/2010/06/cap-and-trade-guest-blogger.html
http://blog.heritage.org/2010/06/10/failed-epa-votes-undermines-economy/
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