global warming

Sep 28, 2013 10:08 AM

An international panel said today it's "extremely likely" that human activity is the main cause of global warming. In Stockholm, a climate change panel of 195 nations called for global action to control carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. In its previous assessment in 2007, the U-N-supported panel said it was quote, "very likely" that humans cause global warming -- especially with the burning of coal, oil, and gas. Here in Wisconsin, climate change was a major focus of former Democratic Governor Jim Doyle late in the last decade. Since then, Republicans who took control of the Capitol either ignored the subject -- or tried to scale back what's been done. Keith Reopelle (re'-oh-pell) of Clean Wisconsin said the environmental movement has lost a lot of its momentum. Business interests say too many regulations come at the expense of jobs. Senate Republican Glenn Grothman of West Bend has proposed rolling back the state's current requirement that 10-percent of the state's electricity come from renewable sources by 2015. Assembly Republican Andre Jacque of De Pere wants to count nuclear power in that effort. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says utilities are almost at the 10-percent mark already -- and the market has reduced coal emissions by themselves, as utilities use cheaper-and-cleaner natural gas instead of coal to generate power