GM joins climate pact, Citigroup pledges $50 billion to fight warming This week saw big businesses make big strides toward climate action -- or at least talking about climate action. The U.S. Climate Action Partnership doubled its ranks, adding 14 businesses and green groups including GM, Dow Chemical, PepsiCo, and Shell. Since forming in January, U.S. CAP has pushed for a cap-and-trade system to control emissions. GM, the first automaker to join the group, inspired the most headlines; some critics claimed greenwashing, while others offered cautious praise. "By joining U.S. CAP, General Motors is acknowledging that global warming is a …

Today, the fast-growing cadre of corporate leaders pressing for climate action welcomes a new member: Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation, the media empire that encompasses Fox News, 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins, MySpace.com, and dozens of newspapers in Australia, the U.K., the U.S., and beyond. Rupert Murdoch. Photo: Kelly Kline/WireImage.com At an event held this morning in midtown Manhattan and webcast to all News Corp. employees, Murdoch launched a company-wide plan to address climate change that includes not only a pledge to reduce the company's emissions (which has come to be expected at such biz-greening events) but also a vow …

Maybe not on price, but on solar. Wal-Mart just announced about 10 MW of solar on 22 stores. Nice. Kohl's, a grocery chain department store, is doing 30 MW. Nicer. These are significant contracts, and the companies signing them deserve kudos for putting their money where their mouths are.

The United States Climate Action Partnership, the group of corporations calling "on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions," just doubled in size (PDF): With its new members, USCAP companies now have total revenues of $1.7 trillion, a collective workforce of more than 2 million and operations in all 50 states; they also have a combine market capitalization of more than $1.9 trillion. The big news is that General Motors has joined the list: GM is very pleased to join USCAP to proactively address the concerns posed by climate change …

Speaking in Detroit, Obama tells Big Auto where to go Presidential contender Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) took his rhetoric to Detroit yesterday, challenging the U.S. auto industry to get with the times. "The need to drastically change our energy policy is no longer a debatable proposition," he said in a speech to the city's Economic Club. "It is not a question of whether, but how; not a question of if, but when. For the sake of our security, our economy, our jobs, and our planet, the age of oil must end in our time." His big talk, which got big …

The Center for Public Integrity continues with their massive report on the state of Superfund with a new story today on the $700 million tab that bankrupt polluters have skipped out on.

Just as Steve Jobs was polishing the final draft of his defense of Apple's environmental programs, computer industry analyst firm Gartner announced to the world its findings about Global IT's carbon footprint. It's not good. As an industry, information technology accounts for 2 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, placing it in the same club as the aviation industry. The causes are numerous, including increasing power consumption, use of refrigerator-like cooling systems, even emissions from everyday computer displays. Gartner also uses this finding as a "wake up call" to geeks throughout the land. Simon Mingay, research vice president at …

Apple CEO Steve Jobs says company is green, getting greener Thrilling headline writers everywhere, computer-maker Apple has pledged to go greener. Green Apple! Ha ha hee hee ho ho! In an open letter on the company website, CEO Steve Jobs responded to criticism that the manufacturer has lagged in removing toxics from its products and recycling the gadgets when they die. According to the letter, the company is on track to shun arsenic in its screens, as well as PVC and brominated flame retardants in all of its products, by the end of 2008. It's also aiming to recycle 19 …

BP CEO John Browne and U.S. Interior Department official resign In one of the oddest corporate tumbles in recent memory, BP CEO John Browne has resigned over allegations that he lied in court about the origins of his four-year relationship with a male escort. Huh wha? Browne, who spent 41 years rising through the oil giant's ranks, was slated for early retirement this summer as a result of BP's recent leak 'n' explosion troubles. But he moved that date up after a tabloid published an exposé that included allegations that he had used company resources to support his companion -- …

John Browne, who's been head of oil giant BP for 41 years, abruptly resigned yesterday. Browne grew the lackluster company into the second largest oil company in the world; he also was among the first oil executives to proactively acknowledge the danger of climate change and encourage action. The resignation came after Browne lied to a British court. A UK tabloid was about to publish an account of a long-running homosexual relationship; he sued to stop it; in the course of the lawsuit, he lied to a judge about how he met the man. A somewhat tragic end to a …