When I first met Frank Maisano he was the spokesperson for the Global Climate Coalition (GCC), which with big automakers as sponsors argued that the science wasn’t settled and that regulation was premature. SourceWatch says that GCC "was one of the most outspoken and confrontational industry groups in the United States battling reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Prior to its disbanding in early 2002, it collaborated extensively with a network that included industry trade associations, ‘property rights’ groups affiliated with the anti-environmental Wise Use movement.’"

Residents of the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard should batten down the hatches this coming summer, as researchers are forecasting another whopper of a hurricane season. William Gray and Phillip Klotzbach, atmospheric scientists at Colorado State University, are predicting that 17 named storms, including as many as five major hurricanes, may well land on Florida and the Gulf Coast between late June and November.

The controversial Cape Wind Project, which aims to install offshore power-generating windmills across 24 miles of the Atlantic Ocean near Nantucket Sound off the coast of Massachusetts, may face its stiffest challenge yet in the form of recently proposed federal legislation that would allow state governments to nix any projects that could potentially interfere with navigation in shipping lanes.

In response to a call from President Bush to start weaning America from its petroleum addiction and reducing Middle East oil imports as much as 75 percent by 2025, the federal government has finally implemented a long-awaited bump in gas mileage standards for light trucks such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickups. Under existing standards, automakers’ 2006 model year light trucks must meet an average of 21.6 miles per gallon (mpg). The new rules call for bumping the fuel economy standard up to 22.2 mpg.