Men of Action: At the UN climate talks in Bali this week, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (left) called for immediate action to tackle greenhouse-gas emissions, saying “succeeding generations depend on us. We cannot rob them of their future.” Star of the conference Al Gore (center) – who jetted in on Thursday, fresh from receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo for his fervent campaigning on climate change – blasted the United States as “obstructing progress here in Bali.” Newly sworn-in Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd immediately displayed his green credentials by presenting the conference with a document ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, rendering the US the sole industrialized nation to continue to shun the emissions-capping accord.

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