Carl Pope
Special to CNN

Global warming data is released constantly these days — and all of it shows that our planet is in peril.

We know that pollution taints our air, water and land, and global warming threatens humans and wildlife in all corners of the globe.

Just this week, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that based on records dating back to 1880, 2008 is on track to be one of the 10 warmest years globally, even though it was the coolest year since the turn of the century.

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Carol Browner was one of four key environmental nominees named by Obama.

Arthur B. Laffer
The Wall Street Journal

This week in Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama introduced key members of his new energy and environmental team and gave a statement expressing his administration’s ambitious goal to make America energy independent. While his desire to do so is sincere, such a strategy would be disastrous for our economy.

The platitude of “energy independence” makes zero economic sense. Yes, it’s true that many nations that supply us with oil are run by anti-American governments. But unfortunately embargoes don’t overturn despotic regimes. More often than not they harden them, as in Zimbabwe, North Korea and Cuba. Since the U.S. is so reliant on oil, embargoes will hurt the U.S. as much, if not more, than the countries of OPEC. The issue of how to handle the anti-American nature of oil-exporting nations is not for the Commerce Department, but for the White House, the State Department and perhaps the Department of Defense.

The U.S. currently imports some 60% of the oil we use. To imagine an energy-independent U.S. today is to envision gas at $20 or more per gallon and a true depression. President Dwight D. Eisenhower tried oil import tariffs in the 1950s, as has every president since. Yet never before has America’s reliance on foreign oil been greater than it is now.

While energy independence for the U.S. would enormously increase the price of oil at home, it would have the exact opposite effect in the rest of the world. Cheap oil for countries like China would surely not benefit the U.S. or the world’s environment. Businesses that use oil would move offshore, costing American jobs while still polluting the world’s environment. Artificial energy independence is neither a good foreign policy nor a good domestic economic policy.

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Program Note: CNN’s award-winning Planet in Peril returns this year to examine the conflict between growing populations and natural resources. Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and Lisa Ling travel to the front lines of this worldwide battle. Planet In Peril: Battle Lines will re-air on Thursday, Dec. 25

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Darren Potgieter
Wildlife Conservation Society

I took-off at mid-afternoon on Friday for a long patrol flight. I had been away in the capital for the week to have maintenance done on our little Cessna. Now I needed to see what had passed while I was gone.

I wanted to check all the elephant hotspots; to follow up on the herds and make sure there had been no poaching. While I was away the guards had been making patrols and recorded no incidence of poaching, but I was still uneasy about what we would find.

First we buzzed around the large open flooded plain in the north east of the park– the area was full of large buffalo herds that were there to profit from the last of the wet season’s greenery. We also found two good elephant herds, of around 60 and 80 individuals.

The elephants were feeding in the open, and this was a good sign– they were relaxed and unthreatened. We continued our search and found life everywhere. The park is teeming with thousands of buffalo, huge flocks of crowned cranes, pelicans, many different antelope species, giraffe and predators. It is easy to be lulled away by the beauty.

We’d been flying for more than an hour when my attention was drawn away in the distance to a lone white pelican. He was sitting at the very top of a tree, in stark contrast to the dark green foliage and was oddly out of place being as far as he was from water. My curiosity directed the plane for a closer look.

As we neared I noticed that his post was shared by a horde of vultures and just as the meaning of this registered in my brain, David somberly responded; “Damn, carcass on my side”.

There were two and they were fresh, not more than five days old– their faces hacked off. One of the two was a
juvenile, confirmed the following day to be about five years old. His tusks would have been tiny, a few hundred grams worth– but still more valuable to some than the life of this little elephant. I was angry– it can’t be a coincidence that this happened as soon as the plane left for its maintenance in Ndjamena. We found another two carcasses before touching down in the fading gleam of dusk. Zakouma! This place equally full of life and death….

We’ve lost at least 11 elephants since the middle of October, and of course in the present conditions with tall grass and dense canopy cover we are not seeing all of them. Eleven in less than two months. It would be more if it weren’t for the guards and our plane, but it is clear they won’t stop trying until they’ve mined all the ivory from Zakouma.

It is full moon now and it is a good time to poach. It is bright enough to find and shoot the elephants, the cool of the night will make the arduous task of hacking out the ivory easier, and of course the rest of the world should be sound asleep. I have bought cheap lanterns to use as runway lights and will fly at night now.

The Department of Water and Power (DWP) San Fernando Valley Generating Station as seen December 11, 2008. Under a new climate plan, California would take major steps toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Wyatt Buchanan
San Francisco Chronicle

California’s air quality board approved on Thursday the nation’s most sweeping plan to reduce global warming by curbing emissions, a move that state regulators hailed as a nationwide model for President-elect Barack Obama.

State leaders predicted that the blueprint, unanimously approved by the California Air Resources Board, would stimulate California’s lagging economy by creating thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of commerce, while business owners said the plan would worsen the state’s fiscal woes.

“Today is the day we help unleash the full force of California’s innovation and technology for a healthier planet, a stronger and more robust economy and a safer and more secure energy future,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

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The Los Angeles Times

Have you ever spoken to [ Illinois] Gov. [ Rod R.] Blagojevich about the Senate seat?

I have not discussed the Senate seat with the governor at any time. My strong belief is that it needed to be filled by somebody who is going to represent the people of Illinois and fight for them. And beyond that, I was focused on the transition.

And that was before and after the election?

Yes.

Are you aware of any conversations between Blagojevich or [chief of staff] John Harris and any of your top aides, including Rahm [Emanuel]?

Let me stop you there because . . . it’s an ongoing investigation. I think it would be inappropriate for me to, you know, remark on the situation beyond the facts that I know. And that’s the fact that I didn’t discuss this issue with the governor at all.

Could you talk to the point of whether an appointment by Gov. Blagojevich would taint whoever your successor would be, given what we know?

I think what the people of Illinois deserve is somebody they can trust, somebody that’s going to fight for them and, you know, I think we’ve got to make sure that whatever process emerges gives them that assurance. I haven’t examined all the options that are out there at this point.

Given the state of the economy, has that forced any changes in your priorities and could you talk about what you would like to roll out in terms of sequencing of the things you would like to accomplish?

You’ve got an interesting convergence between the circumstances that we find ourselves in and the agenda that I have set. Because we need to jump-start the economy, all the proposals that I put forward earlier are ones that are directly designed to put people to work and get the economy moving: a tax cut for 95% of working families — I think that’s needed more than ever — a serious investment in infrastructure that lays the foundation for a green-energy economy, that’s a job-creator and makes our economy more competitive. Investing in technologies that can reduce healthcare costs and error; that is needed more than ever.

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Van Jones
President, Green For All

With our economic crises mounting, Americans are desperate for some bold, comprehensive and holistic solutions. Will either candidate propose them?

Here are three questions that I hope both candidates are asked.

1. Would you support or oppose a multibillion-dollar “green economic stimulus” package?

We have bailed out the banks and - one hopes - avoided a financial meltdown. But we are still in a recession. We need a stimulus - and sending people checks to go shop for a day is not going to cut it this time.

To make matters worse, high fuel prices are making people even more desperate. Winter heating bills are about to go through the roof. At least both presidential candidates now admit that we are in a real recession (not a psychological one). But what will either of them do about it?

The smart move would be to pump dollars into the economy to the nation’s infrastructure - putting people to work repairing our energy grid, fast-tracking solar energy projects, jump starting wind energy projects, weatherizing and retrofitting homes and buildings. Such a program would have the added benefit of preparing millions of homes for the harsh winter, reducing energy prices, cutting carbon emissions, improving air quality and curbing our oil dependence. Even in tough financial times, a smart investment like that would be foolish to pass up.

A report by the Center for American Progress and economists from the University of Massachusetts’ Political Economy Research Institute is promising. It demonstrates how a new Green Recovery program that spends $100 billion over two years would create two million new jobs.

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Editor’s Note: Watch Randi Kaye’s interview with Rick Steiner on Sarah Palin’s environmental record tonight on AC360° at 10pm ET.

Rick Steiner
Professor, University of Alaska

While I disagree with many of Senator John McCain’s policies and I was not planning to vote for him, I was willing to concede that he may at least make a wise, rational president and represent a step in the right direction for the nation – an acceptable second choice. No longer. With his pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate, he has shown a spectacular, even dangerous, lack of judgment. What is not important here is the glitz and glamour, the appearance of the candidates, and the number of balloons at the conventions. What is critically important are the decisions either ticket would make in Washington on the issues we all care about, and how they would make those decisions.

In addition to her frightening lack of qualification to be vice president (much less president and commander-in-chief) of the United States, Palin is an evangelical, anti-choice, pro-gun, right wing conservative that wants creationism taught in schools. She is currently under investigation by the Alaska Legislature for alleged abuse of office in firing the state’s public safety commissioner over a family feud. Many of us in Alaska simply cannot imagine Palin having anything to do with U.S. foreign policy, domestic policy, national defense or the countless other affairs of federal governance.

And a particularly worrisome aspect of the Palin candidacy is her abysmal record on the environment during her 2 years as Alaska governor, and how that would translate into national environmental policy if she became Vice President. Her environmental record as Governor of the nation’s “last frontier” deserves close examination.

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Environmental activist and producer Laurie David before Green Sunday at the Red Rocks Democratic National Convention welcome concert.

Laurie David
Global Warming Activist/Producer/Author

As soon as Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper learned that his city had been chosen for the 2008 Democratic Convention, he became giddy with the possibility of hosting the first green political convention ever. You see the results of his efforts the moment you arrive at the Denver airport and are greeted by smiling DNC volunteers standing by brand new Chevy HYBRID Tahoe’s (with the added bonus of that great new car smell). As you leave the airport, glance to your left and you will see acres of newly installed solar panels to offset the electrical use at the airport.

One of my favorite green touches that Denver came up with is the thousand bicycles sitting curbside around the city available for all to use, free of charge, for carbon neutral transportation. All bikes are equipped with an odometer to measure the green miles logged. Virtually every aspect of this convention was rethought from what kind of paper products the food is served on to briefing the hundreds of restaurants in the community on how to reduce waste. And how about the fact that 1,300 tons of plastic were saved from a landfill by switching to biodegradable wood key cards for the local hotels. Now that’s sweating the details!

It is not an exaggeration to say that a huge shift in consciousness went into the greening of this event. And long after the convention is over, the city of Denver and it’s beloved Mayor will have set a new standard by which all other large-scale events should be measured.

To learn more about what Denver accomplished go to the 2008 DNC website.

Kelly Daniel
AC360° Staff

With gas over $4 a gallon, everyone is looking for ways to cope. American Airlines just announced they are raising the price of domestic flights by $20 round trip. (And this is only a few short weeks since they started charging $15 for the first piece of checked luggage.)

But could it be more eco-friendly to take a commercial airliner than to drive?

It all comes down to miles per gallon per person – not something we tend to think about when deciding between a coupe and a minivan. And although an airliner may only get 2.4 gallons per nautical mile, that’s split among all the passengers. It can actually be greener to fly than to drive long distances.

Cheaper may be another story, particularly as airlines pile on the fees.

You can read how Miles O’Brien crunched the numbers and also read some tips he got about squeezing every mile out of your gas tank here.

A man tries to cool himself with a bottle of water during the first heat wave of the year in New York City.

Jack Gray
AC360° Associate Producer

As a firm believer in the theory that misery loves company, I suppose I should take comfort in the fact that millions of other East Coast residents are also sweating through their shirts today. Yet, despite this knowledge, I’m still cranky. My neighbors are cranky. Even my dog is cranky. When I asked her if she wanted to go for a walk this morning, she didn’t even get up off the floor, she just gave me the finger. I didn’t even know dogs could do that.

I’m not tremendously well versed on Global Warming. I believe that it exists and tell myself that if I ever move out of Manhattan and buy a car it will be a hybrid. I bought some of those energy saving light bulbs but – I’ll be honest – they made me look like Herman Munster so I replaced them with regular ones. I realize that I am part of the problem.

This heat wave is hitting the East Coast while Anderson and the Planet in Peril team travel overseas to document environmental battle lines. The irony is not lost on me. When one thinks of global environmental emergencies, one tends to think of far off rain forests and jungles. And while those are are indeed in peril, so are our cities and towns, our cul-de-sacs and apartment buildings. Our elderly neighbors, those without the money to afford air conditioning – they, too, are in peril as temperatures rise. Don’t take my word for it. I’m not even a genuine environmentalist; I’m just an angry, sweaty person.
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