I had a little Colbert Report chant in my head as I read this article.

Nice to see that when it comes to destroying the global environment, we are still the biggest pigs on Earth.

When Bush retires to his glory in the sun, I sincerely hope the next President will restore my pride in America by taking a leadership position on climate change.

The first thing we should do is a complete ban on burning coal - replace all of our coal power plants starting with the biggest polluters first.

The second step is to reduce our electricty needs by increasing efficiency in the power grid and reducing consumer and business use, both through new technology and through old fashion "use less" behavior. (Nice to see that Congress is already working on a law to replace all incandescent light bulbs with compact flourescents.)

And the third step is cars and trucks. All trucks should convert to bio-diesel grown and distilled in this country using bio-waste and crops grown specifically for bio-fuels (not corn). Cars should be converted to LNG, hybrids, bio-fuel or a combination. Drop CAFE entirely and implement a tax system on buyers and sellers where the fee is based on vehicle weight and MPG.

It is about time we lead the way into the future instead of just complaining about how hard or how expensive it might be. Americans used to be known for their "can do" chutzpah, not their whining complaints.

Leaders Weigh Emissions Fund

Developing Nations Would Get Assistance Upgrading Technology

By JOHN J. FIALKA

September 28, 2007

Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- Leaders from the largest developed and developing countries met to try to pave the way for a system to reduce global warming, with many pinning hopes on an approach that would help developing nations finance changes needed to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions.

A crucial item on the agenda is a plan to create a multibillion-dollar pipeline of investments by industrial nations to help developing countries replace polluting manufacturing and energy facilities with more modern technology. That could include nuclear-power plants and coal-fired generating plants that bury carbon-dioxide emissions believed to contribute to global warming.