Obama’s record: Environmental agenda pushes sweeping attack on air "pollution" - The Washington Post

Obama’s end run around Republican opposition has delighted environmentalists, but it has drawn the ire of business groups and conservatives who argue he is crippling the coal industry, driving up energy costs and hurting the overall economy.

“Environmental regulation should be about protecting public health, and not about creating green jobs and mitigating hypothetical risk,” said Diane Katz, research fellow in regulatory policy at the conservative Heritage Foundation. “Being unemployed and poor from overregulation, or zealous regulation, is a greater risk than global warming.”

Richard Branson: If It Can't Fit On The Back Of An Envelope, It's Rubbish (An Interview) - Forbes

[Q] Can you recall seeing a pitch or presentation that blew you away?

Richard: A few years ago, I was enjoying a nice bath at home, in warm water and soft lighting…you can imagine how excited I got as Al Gore walked me through his Inconvenient Truth slide show! In all seriousness, he presented the irreversible effects of doing business as usual on our fragile planet. In that relaxed setting, we had a constructive discussion about how a businessman in ‘dirty fuels’ businesses [airlines, trains] can open up clean-tech markets and start new ways of doing better business. It led me to pledge 100 percent of our transportation profits to clean energy and to encourage more businesses to equally prioritize people, planet, and profits.