Lisa Jackson and the "Headline People Don't Want to Discuss"

Despite the gridlock on a climate bill, the EPA is already authorized to regulate carbon dioxide from cars. And the Obama administration has raised mileage standards so that by 2016, the new car fleet in the US will have to average 35 mpg.

But without a climate bill, it will be a piecemeal approach. And the EPA may be the main arm of the government regulating carbon sources, including power plants and businesses.

With the climate bill in limbo, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson is playing enforcer and reconciler at the same time. We got both at last week’s interview with her.

On the one hand, she praises the “heroic efforts” of climate bill sponsors Kerry, Liberman and Graham. But when pressed about a potential gasoline tax, a major part of the bill, she says it’s a “headline that people don’t want to discuss right now.”

What is the administration willing to sacrifice to get a bill? Watch the first section of our live interview with her and find out. See all clips with Lisa Jackson on Planet Forward>>