NEWS FLASH

Australia Senate Approves Carbon Tax In ‘Victory For The Optimists’ | After years of contentious debate, Australia passed the strongest climate tax in the world Tuesday in a “sweeping and historic reform” aimed at lowering the carbon emissions that cause climate change. “Cheers and applause broke out as the Senate approved the Clean Energy Act by 36 votes to 32,” AFP reported, which requires Australia’s coal-fired power stations and other major polluters to “pay to pollute” beginning July 1, 2012. Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the $23-a-ton carbon tax was the culmination of a “quarter of a century of scientific warnings, 37 parliamentary inquiries and years of bitter debate and division.” Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan called it a “victory for the optimists.”