Reducing emissions requires a large reduction in the average "vehicle miles traveled," Carper says, meaning people need to drive less and find other, lower-emissions ways to get around. To that end, he's proposing legislation to encourage people to travel greener.

At a Policy Lunch sponsored by National Journal, CSX and the Transportation Construction Coalition, Carper spoke with reporter Lisa Caruso about low-emissions transportation options and how they would change the American landscape. Video excerpts from the conversation follow.

As the debate intensifies, Gore isn't focused just on the far horizon. His Alliance for Climate Protection and its associated Climate Protection Action Fund has 200 organizers working in 22 states trying to build support for legislation to limit carbon emissions; the groups are collecting thousands of video statements of support for action on their Repower America Web site. Gore spoke with National Journal on November 5 about his new book, the Senate climate debate, and the prospects for the international climate-change meeting that will open in Copenhagen on December 7.

Read the full interview here.

Recently, National Journal editors and correspondents sat down to talk about these and other issues with Robert Stevens, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Lockheed Martin.

Subscribers can read the full interview here.

The manufacturer Novartis already is making cell-based vaccine in Germany for seasonal flu, and is about to open a facility in North Carolina to do the same for the United States. Novartis put its new technology to the test in Germany, where it produced a cell-based H1N1 vaccine that was ready months before any egg-based vaccine was. Because the company didn't have to wait for a lab to make a seed virus, which is required when growing vaccine in eggs, that saved four to five weeks. And because it didn't face the additional delay that occurred when the seed virus didn't grow well in eggs for other companies, that saved another month.

Eric Althoff, director of global media relations for Novartis, talked to National Journal last week about the advantages of using the next-generation, cell-based process for making vaccine. The following are edited excerpts from the interview.

For instance, he argues, if the federal government doesn't act, both the Environmental Protection Agency and individual states will move forward with regulation. And, that Derwent said, will cause a monstrous headache balancing state and federal authority that's compounded by EPA regulation -- something no one seems to want. "If there is no action in Washington, then it seems probable that you will find essentially a fragmented position across the United States," Derwent told NationalJournal.com recently after a conference his organization hosted in Washington.

Edited excerpts from that interview follow.

Less has been heard in public recently from the president's top military adviser, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. On Nov. 4, National Journal staff correspondent James Kitfield and Government Executive editor in chief Tim Clark spoke with Mullen about his views on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Edited excerpts from that interview follow.

National Journal caught up with Pawlenty right before the conference began.

But the coal group was less successful in reaching agreement on several other key coal-related provisions, including whether the legislation should prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from using the Clean Air Act to control greenhouse gas emissions. That and other contentious coal-related issues are destined to be debated during the ongoing Senate climate change debate.

National Journal reporter Margaret Kriz Hobson spoke with Sen. Carper on Oct. 23 about the coal negotiations.

National Journal reporter Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. interviewed Thornberry on Oct. 28.

Lincoln talked to National Journal reporter Margaret Kriz Hobson on Oct. 23.

Brown talked about his position on climate change in an Oct. 23 interview with National Journal reporter Margaret Kriz Hobson.

During this year's debate, Lieberman is negotiating provisions designed to encourage the construction of new nuclear power plants. Although Lieberman acknowledges that some Senate liberals might resist his nuclear proposals, he argues that the issue is key to gaining the 60 votes that Senate leaders need to override an expected Republican filibuster.

National Journal reporter Margaret Kriz Hobson interviewed Lieberman on Oct. 23.

In an interview with NationalJournal.com, Leavitt discussed the outlook for health care reform and where he thought Congress could do a better job. Edited excerpts follow.

Once the focal point for al-Qaida in Iraq and the Sunni insurgency, Anbar's main towns of Falluja and Ramadi are synonymous with some of the war's worst fighting. But Anbar today is one of the quietest regions in the country. That transformation is the result of a 2006 decision by tribal leaders to form the "Awakening Councils," striking an alliance with U.S. forces and sending local "Sons of Iraq" to fight Al Qaeda.

Recently, National Journal Staff Correspondent James Kitfield spoke with Anbar's governor, Qasim Abed al-Fahadawi, who was in Washington for a conference. The interview touched on the pending withdrawal of U.S. combat troops, Iraq's difficult transition to normalcy, and the lessons that the "Anbar model" holds for the war in Afghanistan.

Subscribers can read the whole interview here.

NationalJournal.com spoke with Cardin after his trip to get his take on some of the key components of a global climate change treaty and domestic climate legislation.