The issues at the first U.N. General Assembly meeting on climate change are so complex that the two-day event had to be expanded to a third day.

The U.N. wants to create a new agreement to take the place of the Kyoto Protocol and get the participation of the U.S. and emerging nations including India, Brazil and China.

Outside of nuclear weapons, how to jointly address climate change will likely become the most contentious issue in international politics during the next few years. Because what the amount of carbon, mercury and other pollutants emitted by China and India affect us greatly today and will have even greater impact as their economies grow, the U.S. needs to join the international conversation.

We can't point fingers at the emissions from countries that are manufacturing goods for the world's consumption as their path out of poverty. If China did as we did in per capita emissions, greenhouse gas emissions would grow exponentially. Cooperation in using the best technologies to limit emissions from coal power plants and petroleum engines is even more important in India and China that have populations several times that of the U.S.

Brazil is already showing more interest in addressing climate change, and we need to work together in sharing technology since we benefit from protecting the rain forests there. Climate change and energy could bring the world together or drive nations into to conflict, depending on our abilities to negotiate.

The great thing about the Daily Show is that they are an equal opportunity offender, taking shots at the hypocrisy/idiocy of causes/political views of all stripe.

The green/sustainability movement and the Live Earth concerts are in the crosshairs this time, in a funny piece by Aasif Mandvi that highlights the resources used during the concert and the Hummers in the parking lot.

People who care about their environmental footprint can be criticized for being sanctimonious, and the Live Earth concert is ripe for being picked apart.

The New York Times auto blog discusses how none of the big carmakers have submitted entries into the auto X Prize contest, but this is not startling in the least.

The contest is looking for a commercially viable vehicle that can get 100 miles to the gallon or the gasoline equivalent if the car uses an alternative fuel type. Tesla Motors and Zap Motors are the most recognizable names as the auto leaders of Japan, Germany and Detroit have stayed away.

The probable $10 million prize is nothing to Honda, Daimler or GM, so if any of these companies had a vehicle of this type in development, it is not worth making that information public in a contest. These companies will show their hands under circumstances that they control (like say in Detroit next January, at the biggest U.S. auto show).

Also, Ford enters the contest, then they are saying that they believe that this level of fuel efficiency is achievable, which would go against their perpetual whining before Congress that making safe cars that get 40 mpg isn't technically possible. And imagine if GM enters this race and loses to Joe T. Anonymous of Dublin, Ohio. The shame, the shame.

So big auto has nothing to gain and everything to lose by entering the X Prize competition.

IBM will replace 3,900 servers in its data centers with 30 mainframes and expects to cut its electricity needs by 80 percent. The move to Linux-based System z mainframes will also save the company on software and reduce the IT support costs. IBM has pledged to recycle the computers that will be taken offline.

Moving to data centers larger computer systems is another example of enhancing sustainability while reducing costs. Earlier this year several computing heavyweights, including IBM, Sun Microsystems and Intel formed the Green Grid and promised to increase the energy efficiency of data centers.

IBM's consolidation is part of Next »