ExxonMobil: A 'Private Empire' On The World Stage

Despite any number of ads and awareness campaigns launched by the government, advocacy groups and corporations that have turned "green" into a superlative, the number of Americans who believe climate change is a serious problem has been declining, according to a recent study by Pew Research. Host Scott Simon talks to Ed Maibach, director of George Mason University's Center for Climate Change Communication, about the challenges of launching public awareness marketing campaigns about climate change.

President Obama speaks at the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, the president delivered a speech on climate change, met privately with China's president and pressed the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to restart peace talks.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Either governments are not serious about climate change or fossil-fuel firms are overvalued.

America's dominance on the world stage is fading, says commentator and CNN host Fareed Zakaria. He explains why the U.S. is now lagging behind other countries on key indices such as patent creation and job growth — and what that could mean for America's economic future.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Steve Pearlstein thinks there's a "50-50" chance that the Senate passes a major energy bill this year.

Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist, is roaming the halls of the U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen. While Lomborg believes climate change is real, he thinks the approach being taken to fight it is doomed to failure. Lomborg also famously led a team of economists who ranked climate change low on a list of priorities when compared to things like combating disease. Needless to say, Lomborg is not a popular figure at the talks.

The House's recently-passed version of a climate change bill is a charged issue. Even the bipartisan duo behind the original cap-and-trade program doesn't agree this version will work to slow climate change without burdening consumers.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Nearly 200 countries have sent representatives to the Gulf state of Qatar to talk about climate change. The goal is to find ways to cut global emission and slow down the rate at which the earth is warming. One of the world's biggest multilateral organizations, the World Bank, recently issued an alarming report on climate change. Renee Montagne talks about this with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.