A volley of grim warnings sounded out at the start of the marathon talks, a step to a new worldwide treaty to reduce greenhouse gases and help countries exposed to the wrath of an altered climate.

Now, with the U.S. economy in tatters, many figure they still cannot afford to let money escape through the cracks in their homes, even though oil has fallen to $50 a barrel.

...“They are riding the economic wave just like the rest of us,” Adam Sieminski, Deutsche Bank AG’s chief energy economist, said in a telephone interview in Washington. “In the past when there has been a big economic downturn, OPEC has had to go through a series of cuts to stabilize the oil market.”

The current high level government discussions deciding the fate of the "Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the the United States, is symbolic of the importance of this moment. I personally side with the policy makers, who favor some form of bail out for these major manufacturers. The liquidation of their crucial physical plants, along with their extensive supplier networks would simply be too much of a severe body blow to a nation that is already economically reeling. However, this crucial time permits both a proviso and a teachable moment for our society.

Thousands of people locked into heating oil contracts as the price of crude soared close to $150 in July, then watched prices descend below $50 even faster. Many are stuck with the contracts they signed and are in for a very expensive winter during the most severe economic downturn in at least a generation.

Unfortunately, such is not the case.

Former Vice President Al Gore—now a Nobel Prize winner and the world's most prominent environmentalist—isn't looking for another job in Washington. But his eloquent warnings about the dangers of global climate change have obviously helped shape the priorities of the incoming Obama administration. Gore sat down with NEWSWEEK's Fareed Zakaria recently to talk about a bailout for Detroit, the greening of China and the elusive promise of "clean coal." Excerpts:

The industry hopes to build a fleet of ships or barges that can sail or be towed to offshore gas discoveries, extract gas, freeze it to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offload the LNG to tankers for shipping to lucrative Western and Asian markets.

James Bose of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association says commercial and residential installations total 50,000 a year now, up from about 2,500 in 1986.

Gholamhossein Nozari made the comments a day after OPEC ministers met in Cairo, where they deferred a decision on a new supply cut amid signs Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies wanted more adherence to curbs put in place over the past two months.

Then, all of a sudden, Wall Street found out there was money in ethanol and jumped on board.

Massachusetts: What if some nuns in Wrentham decided to put up a wind turbine? And then high school officials in Worcester? And a Canton bank chairman? And pretty soon, the question wasn't where do wind farms belong, but how many windmills can we squeeze in to every last available space? That day is coming.

Proven natural gas reserves have jumped 10 of the past 11 years, according to the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration, and thousands of miles of new pipelines have snaked in every direction.

"This has been our pattern: We go from shock to trance," he said. "You know, oil prices go up, gas prices at the pump go up, everybody goes into a flurry of activity. And then the prices go back down and suddenly we act like it's not important, and we start, you know, filling up our SUVs again."

Yvo de Boer said the world risked a second financial crisis if governments reacted to economic slowdown by building cheap, high-polluting coal-fired power plants that might then have to be scrapped as climate impacts hit.