Just to switch it up, here's some good news

Somewhat more serious-than-normal post today. But hey, no one needs a hyperlink to know it's been a pretty rough week. The usually slow news month of August is booming this year with a burgeoning ideological war and a thwarted terrorist attack, wacky congressional primaries, and my ace roto baseball pitcher going down with injury (NO!).

So amid all the bad news, I thought I'd share some good news. I'm not really linked to any political ideology, and I'm not trying to push an agenda or change any minds here, but I do think that one of the biggest issues of our time - if not the very biggest - is the environment. Seriously! I know, I know - I'm a gay Communist tree hugger. I'll pass the drugs and the granola in a second.

But before I do, I want to pass along the very positive announcement today that former President Clinton has united a bunch of cities - including L.A., London, and San Francisco - to work together to reduce greenhouse gases. This follows on the heels of California and Britain agreeing to collaborate, and a major pledge by Wal-Mart to make all kinds of huge environmental changes - everyone rips Wal-Mart, including me, for a lot of reasons, but give credit where it's due. A tip of the cap to them if they follow through on their promises, as well as big ups to local governments for stepping to the plate here. No one needs a hyperlink to know that Bush isn't going to do anything good for the environment, and Congress is too busy with their own little ideological war to make any headway. So it's great to see people coming together in other ways. Hey, so far it's all talk, but if they can follow it with actions, I think we'll be in a better situation.

Let's see if the feds can join in on the momentum. In June, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case on whether the Bush administration is required to reduce greenhouse gases. They're scheduled to argue it this fall and decide it next spring. We'll see how it pans out.

Hyperlinks:
- Local Action Battles Warming [Washington Post]
- Blair, Arnie 'global warming pact' [CNN]
- Wal-Mart sees green [CNNMoney]
- Top Court Gets Case on Global Warming [San Francisco Chronicle]

Technorati tags: environment, tree hugger, Communist, news, Republicans, Wal-Mart, local politics, Arnold Schwarzenegger