Here's a harsh fact of political life: Congress is not going to pass an energy bill that addresses climate change anytime soon. So what can be done by those who care about the environment and the future of the planet? With the situation being what it is, they can only do what can be done.

So how about reauthorizing a program that has a record of achieving good results? In 2005, Congress with strong bipartisan support amended the Clean Air Act to create a voluntary grant and loan program at the federal and state level to reduce diesel emissions.

Among other features, the law authorized $1 billion in grants and loans over five years ($200 million a year) for this purpose. Some 20 percent of the funds allocated went to states to develop diesel retrofit programs with an incentive for states to match federal dollars.

Diesel engines last longer and are more fuel efficient than traditional gasoline engines, but the older models have significant environmental problems. Environmentalists say that pollution from diesel emissions are linked to 21,000 premature deaths, hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks and other health consequences every year. They also say that every $1 spent on reducing the dirt in diesel emissions produces $13 in health and economic benefits, including job creation.

The benefits of this measure have been seen here in Pittsburgh -- tow boats, garbage trucks, dump trucks and school buses in Pittsburgh were refitted so that they don't spew so much dirt into the air as a result of this program. That is why the Allegheny County Partnership to Reduce Diesel Pollution -- a project led by Clean Water Action and the Group Against Smog and Pollution -- are strongly urging reauthorization of the law, which will expire after fiscal 2011.

The legislation to do this is in place. Senate Bill 3973, the Voinovich-Carper Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2010, was introduced Nov. 18. Not much time will be left in the lame-duck session after Congress returns from its Thanksgiving holiday, but this bill deserves to be expedited.