Al Gore Urges 'Civil Disobedience' Toward Coal Plants

Al Gore called Wednesday for "civil disobedience" to combat the construction of coal power plants without the ability to store carbon.

The former vice president, whose efforts to raise awareness of global warming have made him the most prominent voice on that issue, made the comment during a session at the fourth annual Clinton Global Initiative in Manhattan.

"If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration," Gore said, according to Reuters.

It wasn't clear what specific action he intended by "civil disobedience," which calls for the intentional violation of laws deemed to be unjust.

Since leaving the White House after losing to George Bush in the 2000 presidential election, Gore has turn his focus to environmental issues, a longtime passion. The 2006 documentary based on his lecture, "An Inconvenient Truth," won an Oscar. In addition, he received a Nobel Peace Prize for his climate change work.

McCain says Australia, US share challenge of China

SYDNEY (AFP) — US Republican presidential candidate John McCain Tuesday called on Australia to help encourage greater openness in China, a nation he said had not met all the responsibilities of a global power.

In an opinion piece in The Australian newspaper, McCain said that the US involvement in the Asia Pacific region had to begin with its allies.

He said while Japan had been a strong and reliable partner, South Korea was taking on new global responsibilities and the US shared values and common purpose with New Zealand, the alliance with Australia "sets the standard".

"Firm commitments to our allies will set the stage for an American engagement of China that builds on the many areas of common interest we share with Beijing and encourages candour and progress in those areas where China has not fulfilled its responsibilities as a global power," he said.

McCain, who said the US could reinvigorate its alliances with Thailand and the Philippines and build on newly strengthened ties with Singapore and India, said the Beijing Olympics had provided a vivid demonstration of modern China.

"Americans and Australians have been impressed with Beijing's glittering landscape and warmed by the hospitality and graciousness of the Chinese people," he wrote.

"But in Beijing our journalists have also seen up close how human dignity suffers when basic rights such as freedom of speech and religious worship are denied.

"Our shared challenge is to convince the Chinese leadership that their nation's remarkable success rests ultimately on whether they can translate economic development into a more open and tolerant political process at home, and a more responsible foreign policy abroad."

McCain said that climate change, nuclear proliferation and trade were also all pressing issues for the US and the Asia Pacific region.

"If elected president of the US, I will look to Australia to help us navigate these challenges," he said.

On climate change, McCain said that he would work with Australia's centre-left Labor Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to establish a global framework which draws in China and India to counter the man-made problem.

"Australians have looked to the US for leadership on climate change and it is time for us to answer that call," he said.

McCain said that free trade agreements, such as those the US has with Australia and Singapore and has negotiated with South Korea, were also "critical building blocks for an open and inclusive economic order in the Asia-Pacific region."

"They create billions of dollars' worth of new exports and set a higher standard for trade liberalisation that ultimately helps all the nations in the region," he said.

British public 'unwilling' to pay for climate change bill

Public confusion over the environmental agenda appears to be as high as ever, with a majority in the UK calling for more action to tackle climate change while at the same time saying they are not willing to pay more to help.

Nearly two-thirds of people told a poll by Opinium they thought recent government measures to boost energy conservation needed to go much further, and half said they were doing their bit by installing insulation or turning down the thermostat.

However more than seven out of 10 of the nearly 2,000 people questioned said they were unwilling to pay higher taxes to combat environmental issues, and a similar number believed the green agenda had been "hijacked" to increase taxes.

The timing of the survey last week could also have had an impact on willingness to pay higher prices, coming as daily headlines warned about recession, unemployment, rising prices and a collapse in the housing market.

Mark Hodson, Opinium's head of research, said the public had lost faith in both politicians and the energy companies that they blame for huge price hikes in recent months.

"A massive 78% of people think that energy companies profits are unfair," said Hodson.

"Rising energy bills have affected the majority of people in the past year and the public seem to be as disheartened by the recent energy measures as they are by green taxes.

"It is probably due to this fact that [59%] think the government should have gone much further."

Public confusion was also a result of having a debate which was too "narrowly" focused on pitting the environment against economic wealth and other issues, said Tom Compton, change strategist for environmental group WWF.

"We can't rely exclusively on this convergence of economic growth and the business case for sustainable development on the one hand and environmental demands on the other," said Compton.

"There are areas where these things converge, but similarly there are cases where they diverge; at the moment we are failing abjectly to grapple with those areas where they diverge.

"That requires a more fundamental engagement with and understanding of what our collective aspirations are: what's important to us?"

London-based Opinium Research surveyed 1,975 adults by email from a panel of 30,000 regularly used by the company. The results were weighted to match age, sex, geography and other nationally representative criteria.