Kyoto: 10 Years Later

Ten years ago, in December 1997, the city of Kyoto, Japan, hosted the first successful international conference on global warming, during which most of the world's developed countries agreed that joint action – under the Kyoto accord – must be taken to curtail global warming. To mark the 10th anniversary of the agreement, the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies commissioned an essay by environmentalist Bill McKibben to commemorate the occasion and to address the international progress to reduce global warming – or the failure to do so – since that event. Approximately 30 AAN-member papers will be publishing the essay this week.

To supplement McKibben's analysis, Chronicle staff writer Katherine Gregor contributes a local update on the status of the city of Austin's Cool City programs, and Robert Bryce argues the futility of actually attempting to reduce CO2 emissions worldwide, in light of the continuing increase in energy needs by developing countries and their citizens. – News Editor Michael King