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LONDON(AFP) (AFP) – US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Tuesday the Obama administration wanted to paint roofs an energy-reflecting white, as he took part in a climate change symposium in London. The Nobel laureate in physics called for a "new revolution" in energy generation to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The Nobel prize-winning physicist appointed by President Obama as US Energy Secretary wants to change the colour of roofs, roads and pavements so they reflect more of the Sun’s light and heat to combat global warming, he said today. Professor Steven Chu, speaking at the opening of the St James’s Palace Nobel Laureate Symposium, for which The Times is media partner, said this simple and “completely benign” approach to “geo-engineering” could have a vast impact at low cost. By lightening all paved surfaces and roofs to the colour of cement, it would be possible to reduce carbon emissions by as...

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) won a victory on his 1,000-page cap and trade (read: cap and tax) bill Thursday when it passed his committee on a party line 33-25 vote. The bill ostensibly tackles global warming by creating a system in which industrial producers of greenhouse gas emissions would be required to meet a government-imposed cap on their emissions, but would allow them to purchase credits that cover emissions exceeding the cap. Initially, Obama wanted the credits to be auctioned off, with the estimated $629 billion in proceeds to go to other government-subsidized programs, of...

From the April 20, 2009 National Review With the selling of President Obama’s economic agenda now in full gear, this is a good time to take stock of his energy plans against the background of energy trends worldwide. Alas, even a brief glimpse reveals that Obama’s focus on renewable energy and the introduction of a cap-and-trade regime runs counter to both economic rationality and current energy trends to the point of guaranteeing its inevitable failure, which will result in serious economic harm to the United States. The president is imposing his green agenda on America, even as the renewable-energy bubbles...

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's new fuel and emission standards for cars and trucks will save billions of barrels of oil but are expected to cost consumers an extra $1,300 per vehicle by the time the plan is complete in 2016. Obama on Tuesday planned to announce the first-ever national emissions limits for vehicles, as well as require an overall or industry average fuel efficiency standard at 35.5 miles per gallon. Carol Browner, the White House energy and climate director, publicly confirmed the new initiative in appearances on morning network news shows, calling it a "truly historic" occasion and saying...

President Obama announced tough new nationwide rules for automobile emissions and mileage standards on Tuesday, embracing standards that California has sought to enact for years over the objections of the auto industry and the Bush administration. “For the first time in history, we have set in motion a national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing greenhouse gas pollution for all new trucks and cars sold in the United States of America,” Mr. Obama said in remarks from Washington, flanked by officials from Michigan and California. The rules, which will begin to take effect in 2012, will put...

The new fuel economy rules announced by the government are more than a challenge; they could end our era of cheap transportation. If they can be met, and that is questionable without some cheating on the rulemaking, cars will be small and expensive--or larger and very expensive. The word coming from Washington is that a 35.5 mile average per gallon requirement will be set for vehicles by 2016, meaning something like 43 miles per gallon for cars and 26 miles per gallon for trucks. Rules are easy to make. Companies like General Motors ( GM - news - people )...

I didn’t realize the socialist horror of what the administration has done until I got to the end of the Bob Lonsberry’s article, “Government Wrong To Hose Car Dealers.” Then, I realized the author had missed the central point. Lonsberry fails to understand who finances the auto manufacturers; the dealerships. By destroying the manufacturer’s financing arm Obama destroys any possibility that the manufacturers can ever recover. Government support, and, therefore, control, will be required forever. Here’s how the pre-Obama financing system functions. Let’s say your dealership sells 100 cars a month. You keep an inventory of 200 cars on-hand. The...

– Some soccer moms will have to give up hulking SUVs. Carpenters will still haul materials around in pickup trucks, but they will cost more.

Obama unveils 'historic' car efficiency standards by Stephen Collinson Tue May 19, 5:06 pm ET WASHINGTON (AFP) – President Barack Obama Tuesday unveiled "historic" efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for US cars, forging a rare moment of unity between auto firms and environmentalists on climate change. "For the first time in history, we have set in motion a national policy aimed at both increasing gas mileage and decreasing green house gas pollution for all new trucks and cars sold in the United States," Obama said. The president gathered 10 auto industry chiefs, from crippled US firms to foreign giants, plus...

If having someone tell you a bold faced lie, is a measure of their lack of respect for you, then at least Barry is an equal opportunity prevaricator. Remember when Bush basically said, let the bears die when asked what he was going to do when the Polar Bears habitat was allegedly being melted by Global Warming partially attributed to Americas Polluting ways?

New federal greenhouse gas emission regulation could expose a raft of smaller emitters to litigation, a nominee for a key post in the Environmental Protection Agency told lawmakers Thursday. The potential for smaller emitters to be regulated under the Clean Air Act is one reason why business groups warn that EPA regulation of greenhouse gases could create a cascade of legal and regulatory challenges across a much broader array of sectors. The Obama administration has said that isn't their intent. Regina McCarthy, nominated to be EPA's Director of Air and Radiation, told lawmakers that even while the government has flexibility...

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday before a House Energy Committee. She says that the U.S. is overdue for climate and energy legislation. Lisa Jackson, the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, is re-energizing the agency with a sweeping agenda. Jackson made waves recently with a ruling that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health. That opens the way for new — and some say costly — regulations. Under one possible plan called cap-and-trade, companies would get allotments for carbon dioxide emissions, and they could buy and sell those rights. In a conversation...

On April 17, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an endangerment finding, saying that global warming poses a serious threat to public health and safety. Thus, almost anything that emits carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases could be regulated under the Clean Air Act. This is the first official action taken by the federal government to regulate carbon dioxide.The endangerment finding is the initial step in a long regulatory process that could lead to the EPA requiring regulations for almost anything that emits carbon dioxide. Automobiles would likely be the first target, but subsequent regulations could extend to a million...

Strange-looking synthetic trees that suck carbon dioxide out of the air. Algae that can turn into gas. A candy factory fueled by methane from a local dump. At an Earth Day celebration in Newton, Iowa, today, President Obama said the United States must lead the world in renewable energy. He said his energy plan would simultaneously help the environment and the economy.

SNIPPET: "“The time has come for the United States to reclaim its rightful role as a diplomatic leader within the U.N. framework of climate change,” Kerry said. At the end of the first panel, Kerry defended the lack of detail in Stern’s testimony. “In fairness – I said this to Sen. Corker – Todd Stern made it clear to me prior to coming up here that not all of the T’s were crossed and I’s dotted,” the Massachusetts senator said. “I knew he was coming here today without the ability to fully flesh out every single component,” Kerry said. “I...

Add another name to the ever-growing list of environmental hypocrites: that of Barack Obama. The president celebrated the annual Earth Day festivities by jetting aboard Air Force One from Washington to Des Moines, Iowa, and from there he choppered over to the town of Newton -- delivering remarks at a plant that manufactures wind-turbine towers. There, he called for "a new era of energy exploration in America" (except for offshore oil drilling, no doubt). Now, Obama could have given this speech at the White House -- except that the background visuals probably wouldn't have been so, well, visual. And a...

CBS's Knoller: Obama Burned 9,000 Gallons of Jet Fuel for One Earth Day Speech By Ken Shepherd Created 2009-04-23 12:21 President Barack Obama burned roughly 9,000 of jet fuel yesterday, Earth Day, and that only to deliver one speech in Iowa, reports CBS News's Mark Knoller in an April 22 Political Hotsheet blog post [1]. As if that weren't amusing enough, Knoller notes that the Air Force and the White House wouldn't disclose to Knoller how much fuel the president's plane burns on an average flight, so he had to consult with the manufacturer of the 747, Boeing: In flying...

The environment ministers of rich and emerging nations were looking Wednesday to Washington for new leadership at talks in Sicily on combatting global warming. "We are all encouraged by the new position of the United States," Italian host Stefania Prestigiacamo said as the three-day meeting kicked off. "It is an important signal on the issues of the environment and technology." The start of the talks coincided with Earth Day, an occasion US President Barack Obama used to launch a push for historic climate change legislation in the United States. "The American people are ready to be part of a mission,"...

Hinting at but not explicitly charging President Obama with eco-hypocrisy, CNN weatherman Rob Marciano chided the chief executive for flying out to Iowa and back just for one Earth Day speech. Marciano took to the camera shortly after 10 a.m. EDT for a weather report. His comments came on the heels of Heidi Collins describing Obama's agenda for marking Earth Day [audio available here]: