Strategies for Guiding the State in a Carbon-Constrained World The Michigan at a Climate Crossroads: Strategies for Guiding the State in a Carbon- Constrained World Project (MCCP) team developed state-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction policies for the State of Michigan to consider as it faces an emerging carbon-constrained world. The MCCP builds upon the results of the Michigan Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990 and 2002, conducted by the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan. Approximately 180 regional stakeholders representing the industrial, commercial, higher education, government, and non-profit sectors provided the MCCP team with input and feedback throughout the duration of the project. The MCCP team used the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) State Inventory Tool, the Energy 2020 model, and the Regional Economic Modeling, Inc. (REMI) Policy Insight Tool to calculate potential GHG emission reductions and economic impacts of state-level policies.

When utility and energy execs gathered at the Edison Electric Institute's annual conference to discuss how to combat climate change, they all shed their ties. They were amiable and informal, all part of their willingness to embrace the hottest topic now permeating the energy sector. Interestingly, all the corporate chiefs agreed that the phenomenon is real and that it must be immediately addressed. They disagreed, albeit politely, as to how to fix the matter. The common thread running among the group is that technology will win this battle and that the effort will be a public-private endeavor. In the end, it will require billions of dollars and decades of work to overcome.

In the Washington Post article below, Anthony Faiola, Robin Shulma and Juliet Eilperin write about the efforts of USA towns & cities stepping up and taking the lead on global warming solutions as debate drags on at the federal level.

Thirty-one states representing 70 percent of the country's population announced on May 8 that they had signed on to a new Climate Registry to measure, track, verify and publicly report the greenhouse-gas emissions by major industries.

A University of Michigan study released today finds the state could add $380 million a year in revenue and 3,400 full-time jobs to the economy by 2025 while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.