U.S. predicting steady increase for emissions

The Bush administration estimates that emissions by the United States of gases that contribute to global warming will grow nearly as fast through the next decade as they did the previous decade, according to a long-delayed report being completed for the United Nations.—by Andrew C. Revkin, The New York Times

AZ, CA, NM, OR, WA in accord on goals to reduce greenhous gas

Arizona and four other Western states agreed Monday to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from utilities, cars, oil and gas operations, and other industries in an effort to curb global warming.

But Tucson Metropolitan Chamber exec says it's a federal problem.

"There's a whole lot of things you need to do before you put in regulations that may be so onerous that business can't comply and it disrupts the economy," Camper said.—Tony Davis and Howard Fischer, Arizona Daily Star

Stewart Brand on nuclear power

“There were legitimate reasons to worry about nuclear power, but now that we know about the threat of climate change, we have to put the risks in perspective,” Stewart Brand says. “Sure, nuclear waste is a problem, but the great thing about it is you know where it is and you can guard it. The bad thing about coal waste is that you don’t know where it is and you don’t know what it’s doing. The carbon dioxide is in everybody’s atmosphere.”—by John Tierney, The New York Times

TXU news release on going private

TXU: As a result of this transaction, the newly privatized company will deliver price cuts and price protection benefits to electric customers, strengthen environmental policies, make significant investments in alternative energy and institute corporate policies tied to climate stewardship.—TXU News Release,

A buyout deal that has many shades of green

TXU sale will be noteworthy not just for its size, but for the confluence of business decisions and environmental concerns that drove the ultimate transaction.

“We didn’t want to be on the wrong side of history,” said a person involved in the bidding group who was not authorized to talk about the transaction before its formal announcement, which is expected today.—By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, The New York Times

Gore: Will to act is renewable resource

"It's not a political issue, it's a moral issue. We have everything we need to get started with the possible exception of the will to act. That's a renewable resource. Let's renew it,'' Al Gore declared in accepting the Oscar for documentary films. His 95-minute film, "An Inconvient Truth," also won for best song.

An alternative fuel advocate, Jimmy Carter feels vindicated

"President Carter was ahead of his time," said Joseph Romm, an energy expert at the Center for American Progress, a think tank in Washington. "Even President Bush now talks about the need to save energy. Bush is no Jimmy Carter, but at least he has been forced to pay rhetorical homage to him. Carter has been vindicated."—by Dan Chapman, Atlanta Journal Constitution

Al Gore, rock star

Al Gore is escaping the fate of most former politicians, says Matt Bennett, a consultant for Democrats who worked closely with Gore during his vice presidency. "Usually defeated -- or allegedly defeated -- party nominees become pariah

Bennett credits savvy handling by people around Gore, including the documentary-makers. And he says the world is catching up with Gore. "Look, this guy was a visionary. He was right about everything, even the stuff he was ridiculed for," Bennett says. "He was right about the Internet, he was right about the first Gulf War, he was sure as hell right about the Iraq war. And he was right about global warming."—By William Booth, staff writer, Washington Post

In big buyout, utility to limit new coal plants

Under a proposed $45 billion buyout by a team of private equity firms, the TXU Corporation, a Texas utility that has long been the bane of environmental groups, will abandon plans to build 8 of 11 coal plants and commit to a broad menu of environmental measures, according to people involved in the negotiations.—By FELICITY BARRINGER and ANDREW ROSS SORKIN, The New York Times