Have you ever checked how insulated your house is? Well maybe you should! In an attempt for a more ambitious energy program German Federal Minister of Environment
Sigmar Gabriel suggested enforcing a new law that allows renters a rent reduction if their apartment does not hold up to environmental standards.

"Don't waste your money. Dress your house warmly", the ad of the Federal Ministry of Environment says“We waste too much energy. We got to change that”, Mr. Gabriel said to Braunschweiger Zeitung. According to the minister renters should be able to refuse handing over their money if landlords are unwilling to renew heating installation or replace single glazing.
The German Magazine Wirtschaftswoche said there are about 2,4 million households that are in need of modernization. Mr. Gabriel’s suggestions will be up for debate in late August when the German government appoints a new climate protection program.
Oh, and just because Germany has this new idea, does not mean the rest are exempt. Chancellor Merkel set the agenda for other politicians by announcing to reduce the energy consumption of Germany by 20 percent until 2020. And since its election time in the United States and the United Kingdom, environmental questions will come to the fore.

In the US after all the House of Representatives has past a bill for the advancement of environmentally friendly forms of energy. Until 2015, energy groups will have to obtain 15 percent of their energy from wind or solar or other renewable energy sources. Proponents of this new law say its arrangements will lower CO2 emissions by about 500 million tonnes per year. The law will also decrease the subsidies for the oil industry by 16 billion dollars in order to invest this money into renewable energy research. President Bush is not very fond of the project and has announced his resistance.

Find more in the Financial Times Deutschland

The G8 summit last week in Germany was a huge success - say all parties involved in the biggest and one of the most expensive political meetings ever in the history of Germany.Chancellor Merkel indeed won - her constant and nerve-breaking initiatives to tackle climate change finally cracked the hardest climate nut, George W. Bush. Merkel's negotiators worked on this success for weeks. Victoy was not sure at all: A few days before the summit started the German government still warned of to much expectations.President Bush, however, won too. When it comes to save from his presidency as much as possible he finally can claim to have come to an agreement with his allies of the G8. Mr. Bush was far too much into critiques with his own proposal to set up a Post-Kyoto-Treaty that would not be under the umbrella of the United Nations. The protesters won as well. They made their way through the wood and the countryside to finally arrive at the security fence. This was the horror scenery for police. Due to riots on the streets of Rostock the weekend before the summit they did not want the risk of escalations right in front of the summit site. Peaceful protesters made it through the security lines and showed to the world that protesting in Germany is still part of a decent and democratic political discourse.In the end the countries in Africa won, too. And this may become the only real measurable victory at all. While Bono and Groenemeyer sang for the continent the politicians decided to raise the help to cure those sick of Aids and other diseases. Now it remains to be seen - as it was after the summit of Gleaneagles in 2005 - if the richest nations of the world keep their promise and help to combate climate change and care for the poor.The G8 discussed in the Atlantic Community