On the 7th of July 2007 the global event 'Live Earth' attempted to make billions of people aware of the problems of climate change attributed to carbon emissions. At the time, opinion varied regarding the usefulness of this event, as the 8th of August 2008 approaches, what progress has been made?

An old idea has resurfaced in the USA; to utilise the nation's vast coal reserves to generate gas (petrol) for transportation. This idea is supported by various groups; in particular, the Coal industry, the US Military, politicians - especially those from states with coal reserves - and the rail freight transportation companies.