Go Al, Go Al, Go Al!

Today's EEI newsletter reports that:

Gore Urges New Programs Focused on Climate Change, Energy Efficiency
Former Vice President Al Gore, in a speech at the New York University School of Law, outlined a series of programs that were designed to address climate change, including possibly freezing CO2 emissions and setting up a new government agency, the Carbon Neutral Mortgage Association, to help make more energy-efficient homes, the Washington Post reported today.

In his speech, the Post reported, Gore "took a veiled shot at the Bush administration" when he said: "The debate over solutions has been slow to begin in earnest … because some of our leaders still find it more convenient to deny the reality of the crisis." Wrote the Post: "He saluted a Republican, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, for helping to push through sharp reductions in carbon emissions."

The Wall Street Journal today said the speech came amid concern that the White House was about to launch a new policy initiative. However, the Journal said that James L. Connaughton, head of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality, indicated in an interview with the newspaper that "there is no 'imminent' policy change in the works. But he added that White House policy makers continue to review incentives to push new technologies that help reduce greenhouse gases. The possibilities include introducing more efficient diesel engines for cars and light trucks - slated to begin this fall - that, he said, could reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by as much as 20 percent."
New York Times , Washington Post , Wall Street Journal , Sept. 19. Associated Press via the Houston Chronicle , Sept. 18.

You can read the entire text of Gore's remarks here. And you should.