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States, provinces have plan to cut emissions
David R Baker, San Francisco Chronicle
A coalition of Western states and Canadian provinces unveiled a far-reaching plan on Tuesday that would ratchet back greenhouse gas emissions from a broad expanse of North America and could serve as a model for future federal action.

The plan, by the Western Climate Initiative, would limit emissions across four provinces and seven states, including California and the entire West Coast. In order to do so, the agreement would create what's known as a cap-and-trade system.

Starting in 2012, the system would cap emissions from a wide range of industries, from electricity generation to transportation. A market would then be created in which companies within those industries would buy and sell the right to release carbon dioxide, methane and other gases that contribute to global warming. Companies having a hard time cutting their emissions would trade with others that had met their emission targets...

..."This is an important road map for what will be the most comprehensive climate program in North America," said California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "We're sending a strong message to our federal governments that states and provinces are moving forward in the absence of federal action, and we're setting the stage for national programs that are just as aggressive."
(24 September 2008)

Gore urges civil disobedience to stop coal plants
Michelle Nichols, Reuters
NEW YORK - Nobel Peace Prize winner and environmental crusader Al Gore urged young people on Wednesday to engage in civil disobedience to stop the construction of coal plants without the ability to store carbon.

The former U.S. vice president, whose climate change documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" won an Academy Award, told a philanthropic meeting in New York City that "the world has lost ground to the climate crisis."

"If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration," Gore told the Clinton Global Initiative gathering to loud applause...
(24 September 2008)

Coal, a tough habit to kick
Matthew L. Wald, New York Times
COAL, the “dark fuel,” may be the most visible villain of global warming, but its use is up and projected to go higher.

“In the short run, demand for coal is going to increase,” said Joel Darmstadter, a senior fellow at Resources for the Future, a nonprofit foundation in Washington. “Demand for electricity is increasing, and there are really no alternatives.”

Of course, it does not have to be this way. Efficiency experts have demonstrated that factories, offices, stores and households can save money by saving electricity, but they also agree that cost-effective improvements are not being made on the scale needed to cut demand.

While almost everyone talks a good game about energy efficiency, more electricity is being used. New York State is typical: it has pledged to hold demand constant, but last year, kilowatt hours consumed were up about 1 percent. In some cases, the extra energy comes from power plants fueled by natural gas, but the coal plants run as many hours as they can, and more hours this year than last.

In fact, the demand for coal is rising faster than the supply. So is the demand for oil...