Oct. 2--Supporters of carbon-cutting efforts to battle global warming rallied in Duluth on Thursday, saying the nation's move to regulate greenhouse gases and switch to clean energy will mean more jobs for the Northland.

The media event at City Hall came one day after landmark carbon-cutting legislation was unveiled in the U.S. Senate, and one day after the Environmental Protection Agency said it would begin regulating carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants whether Congress acts or not.

"Renewable energy is local. The fuel is free ... the jobs are long-term and multipurpose," said Chris LaForge, owner of Great Northern Solar and an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union member.

Duluth Mayor Don Ness said the move away from oil and coal and toward wind, solar, biomass, geo-

thermal and other renewable energy will keep more money in the U.S. while reducing the national trade deficit, much of which is spurred by importing energy from unstable areas overseas.

"People choose to live in Duluth because of the connection we have to our natural environment," Ness said. "By taking bold steps today, [lawmakers can] not only protect the environment but create a more sustainable national economy."

Supporters, who urged residents to contact their U.S. senators to support the legislation, say the transition to cleaner energy will create 1.7 million new jobs nationwide, including 30,000 in Minnesota. Scott Dulas of the Duluth AFL-CIO Central Labor Body said local unions support the House energy bill and urge a strong Senate bill, because it has measures to protect existing workers in older industries as well as incentives to create new, living-wage jobs.

Opponents say the cost of changing energy sources and regulating carbon emissions will be crushing to the U.S. economy, raising consumer prices and killing jobs.

The vast majority of scientists who study the issue say Earth's atmosphere is warming at an unprecedented rate and that greenhouse gases from human activity, namely carbon dioxide from burning oil and coal, are the biggest factors in that warming. The climate change is predicted to have major impacts on human health, forests, wildlife, lake and ocean levels and more.

Senate Democratic leaders announced their 821-page legislation Wednesday that mandates a 20 percent cut in carbon emissions by 2020. The bill left out many of the details, leaving that for the looming debate on Capital Hill.