Four JCPenney stores have become the first retail buildings in the US to earn the Energy Star label. The four stores save JCPenney's almost $250,000 per year in energy costs, and avoid over 3 million pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.  read more »

For too many years, Washington has idled while the planet has warmed. Early action is vital, and so is the need to get it right. While a new Bill proposed by Senators Joe Lieberman and John Warner is encouraging, it falls short. It continues to give global polluters too much for too long. This bill proposes a 51-63% reduction in emissions by 2050 is proposed, but is not sufficient nor reflects the urgency of the crisis. Current science tells us that we must reduce our total greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050 if we are to avoid catastrophic impacts due to global warming.  read more »

Global economic expansion, particularly in China and India, has accelerated greenhouse gas emissions to a dangerous threshold not expected for a decade and could potentially cause irreversible climate change, said one of Australia's leading scientists, Tim Flannery. He explains that at this point, reducing greenhouse emissions may no longer be enough to prevent dangerous climate change.  read more »

Maude Barlow, one of the world's leading expert on water struggles, explains the leading causes threatening global water supply. Her primary concerns include private corporations polluting our waters, and government's relinquishing control over water supplies to same corporations. She emphasizes the need to develop better water laws to minimize corporate pollution and to insure the supply remains ids of governments rather than privatization.

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For anyone who has felt and ambivalence about the idea of carbon offsetting or for anyone looking for a good analogy to describe their misgivings towrds it, here's a bit of fun I found by way of the Inspired Protagonist this weekend.

CheatNuetral