Two weeks ago, Al Gore returned to Capitol Hill to press the case for quick action on climate change legislation, particularly the components in President Obama’s stimulus package that he feels will spur renewable energy and energy efficiency investments.

His accomplishments and impact on the debate are well known by now, and the world is preparing for the next round of climate negotiations in Copenhagen in December. With the former vice...

The other day I was reading the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) Blueprint for Legislative Action on climate change. USCAP is a coalition of major corporations (like GE, Ford and PepsiCo) and highly-regarded environmental NGOs (like The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Defense Council), so this is a group that stands to have some major influence on the final form of national climate change legislation.

USCAP is pushing for...

There is a lot of talk these days about “carbon-footprints” or the amount of carbon dioxide emissions that are released into the atmosphere by day-to-day activities like manufacturing and consuming products, traveling, and using electricity – just to name a few.  From carbon-labeling initiatives, like the one developed by Climate Trust, to the array of carbon calculators available on the Web, the evidence is clear – we are becoming a...