In every measure the Bush Administration and the Republican House and Senate have looked the other way hoping the USA can weather the storm of an Earth turned hostile by the abuses of the very country they lead.
While climate changes have brought 'large death events' as witnessed in France several years ago, the USA continues to do nothing in response to the rapidly changing Earth that will in time prove too hostile to support life as carbon dioxide emissions from the USA are unrelenting with no change in sight.
Currently there are no alternatives largely exploited from civilian energy sources. Coal technology, while touting an ability to be 'clean' there is little evidence supporting coal's ability to able to capture carbon dioxide within current sequestering measures.
This is one of the studies conducted in recent years research has been conducted by Duke University and Harvard that clearly states a 'saturated Earth's troposphere' results in little available carbon sequestration in addition to the existing saturation (click here).
"Above Ground Sink Strengths in forest controls, the allocation of carbon below ground and it's [CO2]-induced enhancements", Ecology, December 19, 2006; Vol. 103, No. 51, pp. 19632 - 19367.
This is an update of Clean Coal Technology as of 2001 (click here). I don't find it promising. The type of coal conversion technologies Bush refers to hopes of creating two Saudi Arabias from the USA coal stocks, which can be difficult to reach causing miner deaths; are very polluting to communities and their water and land resources. It's not at all a viable alternative to any other fossil fuel.
There is no better answer for teh USA regarding energy infrastructure than to eliminate the use of fossil fuels from it's menu of options. The cleaner the energy the USA can produce the greater the benevolence to Earth and hence the global community.
Every Earth System has it's limits and the USA has pushed them to breaking, it's time to stop.
