The Bill Factor

Bill Clinton teams with cities to fight climate change

Yesterday, ex-Prez Bill Clinton announced a new international effort to fight climate change. The Clinton Climate Initiative is a partnership between the Large Cities Climate Leadership Group -- a group of 22 of the world's largest municipalities -- and the Clinton Foundation. The latter will help the former pool purchasing power to get lower prices on energy-saving and alternative-fuel products. The consortium will also share knowledge about best practices on everything from energy-efficient streetlights and traffic controls to building codes and clean fuels. "The entrenched thought patterns and economic interests of yesterday are our common enemy," said Clinton. Speaking of which, House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) said recently that if Republicans retain control of Congress in November's election, continued inaction on climate can be expected. Said Blunt, "I think the information is not adequate yet for us to do anything meaningful." Meaningless gestures, though -- we can expect a lot more of those.