It’s sort of ironic. These are the same folks who constantly seed their antideficit speeches with references to our poor, betrayed descendants. (“This is a burden our children and grandchildren will have to bear.”) Don’t you think the children and grandchildren would appreciate being allowed to hang onto the Arctic ice cap?

In his cheerleading State of the Union speech, the president did mention that if Congress, by any wild chance, failed to take action, the administration would do some things on its own. The Obama White House accomplished quite a bit without legislative help during the first term, imposing some big new regulations on automobile fuel efficiency, encouraging the production of biofuels and creating new standards on home appliances. It’s a pretty impressive record, given the fact that the mere implementation of a Bush-era regulation on light bulb efficiency was enough to spark the Michele Bachmann Light Bulb Freedom of Choice Act, and Senator Rand Paul’s historic dual-purpose rant claiming that the administration favored “a woman’s right to an abortion, but you don’t favor a woman’s or a man’s right to choose what kind of light bulb.”

The light bulb standards survived. The world continues to turn.

But a carbon tax/fee is the key to controlling climate change. That or just letting the next generation worry about whether the Jersey Shore is going to wind up lapping Trenton. Currently, majority sentiment in Congress is to hope for the best and pass the baton to the grandchildren. (When it comes to rising-sea-level denial, the champion may be North Carolina, where the Legislature has voted to base state coastal management policy on historic trends rather than anything the current experts have to say. “This means that even though North Carolina scientists predict 39 inches of sea-level rise within the century, North Carolina, by its own law, is only allowed to prepare for 8. King Canute would be so proud,” said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island in a recent speech.)

Congressional stalwarts are working new carbon-tax legislation, but don’t hold your breath. This month, during a free-for-all of amendments in the Senate budget debate, Whitehouse actually did propose a nonbinding resolution establishing “a fee on carbon pollution.” The amendment failed, 41 to 58.

“We were pretty stoked at how well it did. It was 42 counting Frank Lautenberg, who wasn’t there,” Whitehouse said in a phone interview.

That’s the ticket. When all else fails, we’re going for major league optimism. The grandchildren will at least appreciate the perseverance.