Fearless reporter Buck planned to attend Florida’s “Serve to Preserve” climate summit, now taking place in Miami. His day job is getting in the way, but Buck has mixed feelings about not being there.

I don’t think this year’s summit is anything like last year’s — no big names, rather stupid-sounding sessions and “news” like this below coming out of it. Jeez. I still would have liked to have gone just to make fun of everything.

The news Buck refers to really is incredibly lame. With all the changes needed to save the planet, is this the best we can do?

MIAMI – Governor Charlie Crist today announced the first carbon-neutral Major League Baseball game in the Southeast between the Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays in Miami….

…According to the Florida Marlins, more than 440 metric tons of carbon dioxide are expected to be emitted throughout the game, generated from travel, stadium operations and lodging associated with the team and the fans expected to attend. This carbon footprint will be offset by investing in reforestation projects in the Southeast.

“We are proud to participate in this first ever Carbon Neutral (sic) game in the Southeast,” said Marlins president, David Samson. “Under the leadership of Governor Crist, and our local politicians, including Mayor Carlos Alvarez and Mayor Manny Diaz, Florida has become, and will always remain, a global leader in these important environmental issues.”

Well, not quite. The summit takes place a week after Florida’s Republican governor, and leading contender to be John McCain’s running mate, reversed his stance on offshore drilling. Like McCain, he now supports oil and gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, off Florida’s white sand beaches.

It could be worse, I guess. Carbon-neutral baseball games aren’t as lame as McCain’s newest initiative.

Sen. John McCain on Monday called for a $300 million prize to whoever can develop a battery that will “leapfrog” the abilities of current hybrid and electric cars…

“[The prize would amount to] $1 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. — a small price to pay for helping to break the back of our oil dependency,” McCain said…

Barack Obama said the battery could be a good idea but having a contest isn’t.

“I commend him for his desire to accelerate the search for a battery that can power the cars of the future,” said Obama. “But I don’t think that a $300 million prize is the way to go.”

He added, “When John F. Kennedy decided that we were going to put a man on the moon, he didn’t put a bounty out for some rocket scientist to win. He put the full resources of the United States government behind the project and called on the ingenuity and innovation of the American people.”

There he goes, treating us like we’re grown-ups again. I kind of like that.