Leave it to cowboy capitalism and

Teaxs to come up with an monster energy deal weird enough to make a fly on the wall drop his Lone Star. On Sunday morning, New York Times editorial page was wringing its hands over a wild-ass proposal by TXU, the state's number-one power producer, to pay homage to climate-change worries by building a dozen new giant carbon-spewing coal plants. Love that Texas humor. Meanwhile out front on the very same paper came late-breaking news:

buyout princes Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Texas Pacific were riding to the rescue–they'd buy TXU! And scuttle all but three of the proposed new plants. Just in time for the Oscars Sunday night, TXU's board accepted a $44 billion buyout–the new largest-ever private-equity deal

(a record that at present ratesshould last about two weeks).

In what looks like a trend to bet on, green royalty Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council were on hand to pre-bless the deal. They were brought in, the Times reported, by masters of the universe

Goldman Sachs–last seen handing its traders year-end 2006 bonuses of as much as $100 million each. Goldman's bankers, the Times also reported, now travel in "hybrid limousines,"

whatever those are. We'd be more impressed if they rode bicycles–or if Goldman alumni

Henry Paulson used his bully pulpit at Secretary of the Treasury to push a carbon tax. But everyone always said that doing something about climate change would be an incremental affair.

For what it's worth, even three new coal plants is three too many. We know perfectly well how to build zero-carbon generating plants big enough to keep the beer cool in Dallas, Houston and the rest of the Lone Star state: clean, green nuclear power. Indeed, among serious people, the chief objection to nukes is their rather hefty upfront cost. Maybe Messr

Kohlbert, Kravis & Roberts would like to weigh in there as well–we're only talking single-digit billions.