In the USA, "there is a war of perception that is happening" according to John Larsen of the World Resource Institute. "The facts almost don't matter" - which is quite handy, since 73% of Americans don't know what the facts are.

The USA has been gripped by three simple words that most Americans can't explain - Cap and Trade. President Obama is trying to pass legislation that will force polluting companies to cap their pollution at set limits, but will allow the companies to trade these limits; a company that is well bellow it's limit - by switching from fossil fuels to solar power, for example - will be allowed to sell its 'spare' pollution quota to a company that refuses, or can't, limit it's pollution. It's like GCSE Maths for Big Business: Rex has an allowance of eight barrels of oil, but he only needs to use three. David has an allowance of eight barrels of oil, but he needs to use ten. How many oil barrel quotas should David buy from Rex? Europe has something remotely similar with the European Union Emission Trading Scheme - minus Rex and David.

For at least a thousand Americans, this crazy Cap and Trade idea is something of a mystery. The Rasmussen Report, an American public opinion poll firm, asked a thousand Americans what Cap and Trade is. 30% thought it has something to do with Wall Street regulation. 17% thought it has something to do with health care reform. Only 24% thought it has something to do with environmental issues. 30% couldn't even hazard a guess.

Embarrassing for a country with one of the highest CO2 emissions per capita? Perhaps. Embarrassing considering the amount of money spent on lobbying, advertising and PR swirling around the words Cap and Trade: "I've never seen this much media spending on a bill that is only in the subcommittee," John Larsen said. "Turn on a radio in the blighted town in America's rust belt, and a new advertisement paid for by a lobbying group... claims that ordinary families could be worse off by thousands of dollars if Congress passes the draft global warming law" reports the Guardian.

"Emissions Cap-and-Trade Aids the Corrupt, Hurts the Little Guy," reports US News. "Who Pays for Cap and Trade? Hint: They were promised a tax cut during the Obama campaign," reports the Wall Street Journal. See a line of attack in the "war of perception"? Hit them where it hurts - the wallet. As Warren 'Worth $37 Billion' Buffet said to CNBC: "Anything you put in that effectively taxes carbon emissions, somebody is going to bear the brunt of it. In the case of a regulated utility company, the utility customers are going to pay for it."

That's right Mr and Mrs Average American - you may not understand it, but you're the ones to be paying for it. Although it's difficult to say how much will be taken from US pay cheques: $680 to $1,500 per year according to The Wall Street Journal; $3,100 per year according to some Republicans. You can hear the shouts of 'Damn you Obama!' reverberating across the internet. 'First you give American families a $400 to $1000 tax break, then you make companies like Shell (profits of $26 billion), Chevron ($23 billion) and ExxonMobil ($45 billion) take it!' But how else will they recoup their millions and millions lost lobbying against the Cap and Trade system?

Amidst this flurry of spending, the facts have been lost. Facts like the International Energy Agency stressing "the need to address climate change will require a massive switch to high-efficiency, low-carbon, energy technologies." Facts like scientists at the University of Bristol saying human pollution is turning the sea dangerously acidic. The Kremlin recently predicted the growing struggle for the world's energy resources could lead to military conflict in the Arctic. A recent report from the University College London and The Lancet described global warming as "the biggest global health threat of the 21st century." But you can always face the facts and maintain a fresh perspective, as 84 year old CEO billionaire and Buffet friend Charlie Munger said about rising sea and pollution levels: "I don't think it's an utter calamity for mankind... You'd have to be a pot-smoking journalism student to think that."

Words: Richard Lemmer. News editor, Ctrl.Alt.Shift.