The Go Green Debate

As the Olympics near, China has embarked on several measures to improve air quality, such as limiting the use of cars and the closing of dozens of factories.

Apparently, these efforts have had little impact. The Air Pollution Index, or API, (the API measures particulate matter) in Beijing has hovered over 101, however the API must be below 101 for the athletes safety.

As a result, the Chinese are implementing an “Emergency Green Plan”, banning 90% of the 3.3M private cars from the roads, and temporarily closing even more factories.

AP reports that officials of eighteen states are suing the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in an attempt to force it to comply with a Supreme Court ruling last April that found the EPA has authority to regulate vehicle emission.

In the petition the plaintiffs said last April’s 5-4 ruling required the EPA to decide whether to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

The EPA has done nothing.

The petition asks the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require the EPA to act within 60 days.

The plaintiffs in the latest court action include Coakley and attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia, plus representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the cities of New York and Baltimore, and several environmental organizations.

Rex Murphy talks about his “Point of View” of global warming on the CBC’s (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) flagship nightly news program, The National.

Katie Couric on Primary Questions asked ten leading presidential candidates whether or not global warming is a real and immediate threat.

Which presidential candidate has the best plan for our global warming and climate change problem? The answers are in with the Climate Cup 2008 tournament. Check out these videos that seed the hopefuls, and weigh the issues in this eco-friendly winner-take-all tournament.

Climate Cup 2008: Republicans

Climate Cup 2008: Democrats

The 11th Hour is a new documentary film narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The film examines the human relationship with earth from its earliest glimmers of innovation, to the challenges humanity faces in the present, to the possibilities of the future.

The 11th Hour is the last moment when change is possible. This film explores how we’ve arrived at this moment — how we live, how we impact the earth’s ecosystems, and what we can do to change our course.

The film features experts from all over the world, including former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and sustainable design experts William McDonough and Bruce Mau in addition to over 50 leading scientists, thinkers and leaders who discuss the most important issues that face our planet & people.

Check Out The Trailer:

Many countries around the world have already signed the Kyoto Protocol Agreement, but the US has rejected the agreement. Why? Is it because the agreement isn’t effective?

In this episode of The Massachusetts School of Law’s Educational Forum, Professor Diane Sullivan interviews Dr. Paul R. Epstein of the Harvard Medical School, Nancy Cole of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Kurt Olson Professor of Law at MSL about Global Warming & the Kyoto Protocol Agreement.

Presidential Candidate Rudy Giuliani answers a question from Bruce Clendenning on July 10, 2007, in Manchester, New Hampshire about how fuel efficiency standards, renewable energy, and emissions caps will be used to fight global warming.

Where does your presidential candidate stand on international treaties to cut greenhouse gas emissions like the Kyoto Protocol Agreement?

Strongly Supports =
Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, Mike Gravel

Supports =
Christopher Dodd, John Edwards

Neutral =
Barack Obama

Opposes =
Duncan Hunter, Fred Thompson, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani

Strongly Opposes =
Ron Paul

California’s Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and President George W. Bush are butting heads over who has the right to regulate vehicle emissions that contribute to global warming.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced Wednesday, December 19th that because President Bush had signed an energy bill raising average fuel economy that there was no need or justification for separate state regulation.

In an interview with Time Magazine, Governor Schwarzenegger says:

“Give me a national policy that says we’re going to take this seriously and we’re going to fight global warming. But right now, there has been none. So how can you say you cannot regulate, you cannot have your own standards, [that] we have to set a national standard, when there is no national standard?”