With the economic crisis threatening to preoccupy the early days of the next Congress, many in Washington, D.C., are debating what President-elect Barack Obama should do to move climate policy using solely the powers of the executive branch.

The Bush administration is urging its allies to publicly decry regulated emissions. The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs last week sent an e-mail to mayors, reminding them that time was running out to comment on the administration's proposal to curb greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The proposal stems from a 2007 Supreme Court decision that required U.S. EPA to issue a ruling, but the White House made clear in its e-mail that it does not support the idea.

The incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee proclaimed yesterday that "America is back" in international climate negotiations.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Three Alaska towns, 17 members of Congress, 84 scientists and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) yesterday climbed aboard the bandwagon pressuring the federal government to take action on cap-and-trade.

Colorado's ski industry hopes to capitalize on Democrats' election wins by drafting a wish list to present to President-elect Barack Obama and members of Congress.

President-elect Barack Obama today nominated Peter Orszag, an expert on climate change policy, to be his top White House budget writer. Orszag, 40, emphasized global warming issues during a nearly two-year stint atop the Congressional Budget Office, a job he resigned today to start the Senate confirmation process that would make him the new director of the Office of Management and Budget.

A federal judge today struck down a legal challenge from auto manufacturers trying to block Rhode Island's tailpipe emissions standards for greenhouse gases, the third such defeat for carmakers looking to block state climate regulations.