In a blow to the auto industry, US Judge William K. Sessions III ruled Sept. 12 that the state of Vermont can set limits on car emissions that contribute to global warming, rejecting arguments that only the federal government can regulate the industry. The EPA has so far refused to demand a curb in emissions linked to global warming. In 2002, California passed a law requiring automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 22% by 2012, and 30% by 2016. Vermont followed suit with its own such law in 2005, as have a handful of other states. Automakers took the individual states to court, arguing that the laws usurpsed federal authority. But Sessions wrote: "The regulation does not impermissibly intrude upon the foreign affairs prerogatives of the president and Congress of the United States."

Decades of negotiations between Ottawa and the Cree First Nation of northern Quebec ended July 16 with the unveiling of a $1.4-billion agreement to settle outstanding lawsuits and finally enact a 1975 treaty that stalled shortly after it was signed. The agreement, running through 2027, will give the Cree control over millions of dollars to improve local services. It will also open a new set of negotiations to finalize the structure of the Cree Nation's local government. The agreement is subject to ratification on both sides, including a vote by the 16,500 Cree that is expected to be complete by the fall.

Boy does this sum up everything which is wrong with the USA. Apart from the charming touch of cops brutalizing a woman old enough to be their grandma, is the absurdity of mandatory water-profligance in the middle of a desert. From the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, July 5:

Woman, 70, shackled for dry lawn
OREM, Utah — A 70-year-old woman who said she couldn’t afford to water her brown, sickly lawn was briefly jailed Friday after refusing to accept a ticket for violating a city ordinance.

WW4 REPORT has received the following letter from David Ridenour, vice president of the National Center for Public Policy Research (link added):

You may wish to remove the article, "The Gas-Guzzling Lobby Stops Time" from your site, as it is riddled with errors—including about my organization.

Twenty-one protesters who were arrested at an anti-trade protest in Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 15 were released on the 18th on conditions that they do not return to the protest lines. Authorities said they faced a variety of charges, including assaulting police, mischief and weapons-related offences. Protests against a Halifax conference to promote the "Atlantica" free trade zone proposal turned violent when about 50 yooung people dressed in black and wearing balaclavas broke away from the larger group. Running through downtown Halifax, the youth hurled paint-filled light bulbs, fire-crackers and rocks at police, businesses and journalists. Police used pepper spray and electric stun- guns to subdue the protesters. Some protesters said the break-away faction was provoked after police started using stun-guns on others. (Canadian Press, June 19)

From the AP, June 19:

VATICAN CITY — The Vatican on Tuesday issued a "Ten Commandments" for motorists to keep them on the road to salvation, warning drivers against the sins of road rage, abuse of alcohol or even simple rudeness.

From ZNet, June 12—George Monbiot's latest in his series of exchanges with Alexander Cockburn over the question of global warming:

The Conspiracy Widens
So at last, and after only seven requests, we have some references. And, to no gasps of surprise, they reveal that the "papers" on which Alexander Cockburn bases his claim that carbon dioxide doesn't cause global warming have not been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. In fact they have not been published at all.

The EU's carbon trading scheme has increased electricity bills, given a windfall to power companies and failed to cut greenhouse gases, according to an investigation by BBC Radio 4's "File on 4" program. According to the consumer watchdog Energywatch, after two and half years the scheme has yet to cut in carbon dioxide emissions.