In the see saw of that the international climate negotiations is the balance has now shifted towards the developing countries. The developed and developing countries argued vigorously over the one last year and both the parties have moved back and forth several times on their negotiation positions.

The United States under the leadership of President Barack Obama pursued a highly aggressive diplomatic effort which resulted in China agreeing to various mitigation measures including improvement in energy intensity. Taking cue from China various other developing countries too announced ambitious mitigation and clean energy initiatives.

The United States successfully planted seeds of division in the developing countries’ camp by singling out China for concentrated talks but what happened transpired throughout the developing world after that was completely unexpected. India, in addition to other developing countries announced several short and long term initiatives as an answer to the increasing international pressure to act on the rising carbon emissions.

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I have taken on Big Coal.

OK–obviously I cannot win. In a cage match between Big Coal and me, Big Coal would be like the real Mean Joe Greene of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Steel Curtain” defense, and I would be…well, me–the other Mean Joe Green (although, I did play college football, for what it’s worth).

However, I am not attempting to take down Big Coal–a D2 wide receiver has little hope against a Hall of Fame defensive lineman. I am simply attempting to shine a small light on the corruption that surrounds a multi-billion dollar industry struggling to hold on to its inevitably diminishing wealth. An industry focused on profit at the expense of the health of air and water, thereby, the health of those who breathe and drink it–an industry on its way out.

Please enjoy my archive of 11 Big Coal cartoons, below (click on the cartoon titles to see the accompanying text for each cartoon):

“Clean Coal?!” from 3/29/2008

“CO2 Molecules for McCain”, from 9/11/2008

“Coal’s New Look” from 11/18/2008

“Naughty Mayors May Get Coal This Year” from 12/03/2008

“Want Coal? Expect Occassional Sludge” from 12/31/2008

“The Lights are on but Nobody’s Home” from 3/4/2009

“Rep. Rahall (D) Shows His Love for (getting money from) Coal (companies)” from 7/21/2009

“Big Coal Claims Climate Bill Unfair” from 8/7/2009

“Hunger Strike Protest for Coal and Oil” from 9/2/2009

“Old King Coal’s New Nursery Rhyme” from 9/24/2009

“CO2 Isn’t Good for You…It’s GREAT!!!” from 10/1/2009

Mean Joe Green Cartoon Archive, #’s 1-76

follow Mean Joe Green on Twitter at @GreenCartoons

Can “We the People” who got us into this mess be counted on to get us out of it?

…not looking good.

Mean Joe Green Cartoon Archive

Follow Mean Joe Green on Twitter @GreenCartoons

The passage of this bill will change your life in three ways:

1. It would affect what type of car you can drive - smaller.
2. It would affect how much you pay for energy - more.
3. It would affect what type of job you have - green job.

Energy affects every facet of our lives. When energy prices go up, food prices go up, clothing prices go up..the price for everything we buy gets more expensive. Why? Because our society is intricately intertwined with energy, and energy is intertwined with our economy.

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This column highlights the top economic stories of the week.

For a while it looked like Google might actually bailout the newspaper industry by buying a stake in newspapers that have been struggling with debt and declining ad revenues.  However, it appears that this plan ha been called off.

Meanwhile, the Treasury department has committed $ 7.5 billion in aid to GMAC, the auto lender that will use the aid to support financing to GM and Chrysler. But the questions remains as to whether this boost can actually translate to sales.

Speaking of automobiles, China is taking steps to clean up it reputation as the world’s biggest polluter by banning high emissions vehicles from entering Beijing’s inner city.

The other big news this week is that the much talked about Waxman-Markey climate change bill sets ambitious targets for curbing greenhouse gas emissions through a cap-and-trade system. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, told Bloomberg TV that the legislation is a “good compromise.”  But some critics say the proposal could actually encourage pollution. More about this here…

And Bloomberg put a positive spin on the economy this week, reporting that orders for durable goods and home sales probably rose in April as the recession has begun to weaken.

“Evidence that the 16-month recession is coming to an end continues to build,” said David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York. “Home sales and building activity seem to be stabilizing and manufacturing surveys point to smaller production cuts and smaller job losses.”

Has the government’s forceful intervention in the capital markets worked? Or have we simply heard this story before?

Well, I’m guessing they didn’t call it a coming out party. But Democrats in the House of Representatives did unveil the already heavily discussed Waxman-Markey bill on Friday, formally known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act. It is 932 pages long. And no, I haven’t read all of it. So don’t feel too bad.

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How much will it take to get the economy back on its feet?

President-elect Obama’s team has begun working on a plan to spend up to $500 billion in new funds if the economy continues to worsen. President-elect Obama promised to create 5 million new green jobs in the alternative energy sector. However with the economic outlook worsening daily, will he be able to put his money where his mouth is?

“The situation in the economy is the biggest impediment to any strategy,” said Christine Tezac, an energy and policy analyst at the Stanford Group Co. in Washington, D.C.

There is speculation that some of Obama’s ‘green plans’ might need to give way to more pressing economic issues like rescuing the housing market and creating jobs in other (not necessarily green) sectors. That could cost not just green job creation but also funding for the green economy. Obama might have a tough time passing the much-anticipated climate change bill, whose higher costs for utilities would ultimately mean heftier electricity bills for consumers. Failure to pass a bill that would create a system to sell carbon credits would also dry up one key source of funding for Obama’s $150 billion in promised alternative-energy investments.

And what about his proposed climate legislation that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% over the next four decades? Implementing a cap-and-trade program that would assign a cost to carbon dioxide emissions potentially provide funds for alternative energy initiatives.

What do you think?  Do we have a case of economy vs. green or will we see the green economy that Obama has promised?