USA Today had a good G-8 post-mortem: “Critics note that the deal has no binding caps, only a pledge to ‘consider seriously’ a 50% cut by mid-century.” The story goes on:

The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, called Bush Pepe Le Pew “the skunk at the garden party” for rejecting the Merkel-Blair targets. Daniel Weiss, the center’s director of climate strategy, said Bush’s global warming plan amounts to “more talk, less treatment.”

The BBC, however, got the story quite backwards:

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10. Instead of “Partly sunny,” have weatherman say “Partly cloudy”

9. Stop using Air Force One for Texas barbecue runs

8. Replace dangerous CO2 in the atmosphere with more eco-friendly CO1

7. Encourage people to walk more by distributing free Dr. Scholl massaging gel inserts. Are you gellin’?

6. Watch Al Gore movie one of these nights instead of “Dukes of Hazzard”

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Parts of the country are in the midst of a brutal drought, as we have noted many times. A USA Today article, “A drought for the ages,” explains:

Drought, a fixture in much of the West for nearly a decade, now covers more than one-third of the continental USA. And it’s spreading.

As summer starts, half the nation is either abnormally dry or in outright drought from prolonged lack of rain that could lead to water shortages.

Last year, the N.Y. Times blew its drought coverage by failing to mention how global warming makes severe drought more likely. USA Today doesn’t make that blunder, but it is still a bit confused:

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U.S. automakers are opposed to renewed efforts to significantly increase fuel economy standards for the first time in a quarter-century. They are willfully oblivious to their steady loss in market share to more efficient Toyota.

They may be the last three companies in the world who don’t understand the inevitable market trends — higher oil prices and growing concern over global warming — mean the successful car companies of the 21st century will be those who deliver the most fuel-efficient vehicle.

Kudos to Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) for his blunt response to the car companies self-destructive myopia:

I think the issue is over. I think you’ve lost that issue. I think your position is yesterday forever.