Trailblazers

摘要

There is a rising flood of coverage in America of global climate change and greenhouse gases (GHGs), including a motion picture (The Day After Tomorrow), an HBO feature (Too Hot Not to Handle), a New York Times piece (Yelling 'Fire' on a Hot Planet), a TIME magazine cover story (Be Worried. Be Very Worried), a film starring Al Gore (An Inconvenient Truth), photos of receding glaciers, and reports of drowning polar bears. The coverage urges Americans to be concerned and take action over global climate change. Although most Americans believe climate change due to global wanning has begun, polls show their concern over the issue is near the bottom of a list of 10 environmental issues. The executive branch of the United States has maintained since 2003 that the Clean Air Act does not authorize regulation of GHGs, and Congress and the federal courts have so far not disagreed. When the federal government does not enacfa regu-latory scheme, states may fashion their own. At the same time, increased fuel prices and political concerns over oil imports from the Middle East have caused many Americans to closely scrutinize their use of fossil fuels.