Bush prepares global warming initiative President Bush is poised to change course and announce as early as this week that he wants Congress to pass a bill to combat global warming, and will lay out principles for what that should include. Specifics of the policy are still being fiercely debated, but Bush administration officials have told Republicans in Congress that they feel pressure to act now because they fear a coming regulatory nightmare. It would be the first time Mr. Bush has called for statutory authority on the subject. "This is an attempt to move the administration and the party closer to the center on global warming. With these steps, it is hoped that the debate over this is over, and it is time to do something," said an administration source close to the White House who is familiar with the planning and who said to expect an announcement this week. The source requested anonymity to be able to speak on a sensitive matter still under debate. Given the arguments at the White House over the extent of the action to take, it is not clear exactly what Mr. Bush will propose, the adminstration source said. Still, Republican members of Congress who were briefed last week let top administration officials know that they think the White House is making a mistake, according to congressional sources and others familiar with the discussions. Opponents said Mr. Bush could be setting off runaway legislation, particularly with Democrats in control of Congress....
Governors Gathering for Yale Climate Change Conference Governors from across the United States are meeting at Yale University this week to discuss ways of dealing with global climate change. The gathering -- on April 17 and 18 -- will celebrate the centennial of President Theodore Roosevelt's 1908 Conference of Governors, which launched the modern conservation movement, planted the seed for the National Parks System, and inspired significant state efforts to protect land, Yale said in a press release announcing the conference. Participants -- including Govs. Jodi Rell (R-Conn.), Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.), Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Kathleen Sebelius (D-Kan.) -- will "confront the present climate challenge, and set out a vision of a federal-state partnership for future action," Yale announced. Yale said the governors will meet privately for "high-level discussions on climate change," then address the general public during a session on April 18th. They'll "exchange ideas and chart a forward path on state, national, and international action." The governors also are expected to sign a "climate change declaration" on state and federal policy-making. "This is particularly timely as the United States prepares for new leadership at the federal level, Yale said. The three leading presidential hopefuls have pledged to limit greenhouse gas emissions....
Students Urged to Focus on Their 'Carbon Footprints' Attention, class: This is National Environmental Education Week, a time to actively engage K-12th grade students and teachers in "an inspired week of environmental learning" before Earth Day on April 22. The event is organized by the National Environmental Education Foundation, a group chartered by Congress in 1990 to advance environmental knowledge and action. "Our ultimate goal is to activate environmentally responsible behavior in the general public," the group says on its Web site. The theme of this year's Environmental Education Week is "carbon footprints." The lessons and activities are "designed to infuse environmental education into everyday learning." With that goal in mind, the National Environmental Education Foundation is offering an online student carbon calculator to help kids figure out how much carbon dioxide they are emitting in the following categories: travel, what you eat, home, what you use, and what you throw away....