The newly passed House climate-change bill has not had an easy run, from it’s inception it’s been attacked and modified, and it was with a narrow victory of seven votes that it managed to pass on June 26. Yet the most challenging times may still lay ahead for a bill that environmentalists have both praised as a necessary step in revamping American’s approach to global warming and criticized for being too weak. When the bill reaches the Senate (possibly as early as September or October) it will likely need 60 votes to be passed and it’s there that it may be jointly rejected by Senate members for being too aggressive and by environmentalist groups for being too lax.

One of the biggest concerns about the climate-change bill—and one that has contributed to eco-organizations like Greenpeace opposing the bill—is the heavy focus on carbon offsets as an acceptable option if a company will not be pursuing renewable energy. Environmentalists worry a dependency on carbon offsets could mean energy use is not reduce, but rather, is countered with tree planting (much of it overseas). In its original form the climate-change bill had many environmentalist backers but as it was altered for vote-gathering purposes the number of green supporters has dwindled, with some citing the bill as “too weakened” to be beneficial and even believing that it could be counter-productive.

Still, the bill is a step toward America taking responsibility for its contributions to global warming and sees some crucial activities being initiated, like a cap on greenhouse gas emissions that sets a goal of more than an 80% reduction from 2005 levels by 2050. Now the bill—and its supporters—must navigate the tricky territory of modifying a bill for increased eco-mindeness while in the Senate where it will likely need to be less stringent to be passed.

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