Katie Couric's Notebook: Energy

Conversations about energy in this country are a lot like Groundhog Day. Lawmakers agree that climate change is a problem, vow to do something about it, and then argue about taxes and jobs and nothing really gets done.

The energy bill that squeaked through the House last week now faces the Senate and an uncertain fate. It may not be perfect. The cap and trade plan is as hard to follow as an episode of "Lost", and it will likely mean we'll all pay more for utilities.

But the bottom line is that it forces us to take the first steps toward ending our dependence on coal and oil and to begin to develop new and cleaner ways to keep this nation running.

Yes, smoke billowing from a factory means people are hard at work inside and industrial communities do need the assurance that a green nation won't put them in the red.

Change can be scary, but the consequence of doing nothing is even scarier. At some point we must focus on the future, even if that means some growing pains along the way.

That's a page from my notebook.

I'm Katie Couric, CBS News.