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Table of Contents

Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

No Global-Warming Deal

Some rode earth-friendly scooters to the climate meeting.

Climate experts from 170 nations gathered in Holland in late November to lay down the law. Their hope: to make rules to cut back on polluting gases believed to cause global warming by trapping heat close to the earth's surface.

That hope was shattered by disagreement. Small and developing countries wanted big, industrial nations to follow strict rules to cut pollution from factories and vehicles. The U.S. and some other big nations wanted to avoid drastic cuts by getting "credits" for having forests, whose trees absorb some of the polluting gases. The two sides could not agree on how much each nation should cut its pollution or how much credit they should get for forests. The leaders will meet again in May 2001. "We did not yet succeed," said conference leader Jan Pronk.

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