At least that is Sen. Bob Corker's (R-Tenn.) take on carbon sequestration (as reported in BNA's Daily Environment Report) who says he finds it hard to believe that the infrastructure necessary to make carbon capture a reality, such as pipelines and right of way access, will ever come to pass.  His remarks are skeptical of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chairman Jeff Bingaman's (D-N.M.) proposal to add a bill establishing a national carbon capture and sequestration program.  The bill (S. 1013) would establish a national indemnity program through the Department of Energy (DOE) for up to 10 commercial scale carbon capture and sequestration projects. While the Department of the Interior is preparing a report that provides the framework for geological sequestration on public lands, the legislation authorizes DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation to establish a grant program for state agencies.  The secretary of energy could take ownership of, and assume potential liability for, carbon dioxide injection as part of DOE sequestration demonstration projects according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Ala.). From a legal perspective the risk of loss of carbon capture and the issues surrounding indemnity have been a sticking point for potential projects.  Proponents of projects have been looking for certainty on what programs and agencies will govern the carbon capture programs.  In addition to the indemnity, the bill includes a legal framework for closing down a geological storage site to address these concerns.  Obviously not everyone is sold, as Sen. Corker also inquired "Are we smoking something?" and the Obama administration officials testifying before the committee said that DOE and the Interior Department are not prepared to take a position on the bill at this time.

In the meantime, donkey owners everywhere are tying them to fence posts; just in case.