Six year's since he left public office, Bill Clinton continues to influence politics on the world stage, particularly for the environment, as he helps secure huge new contributions to fight global warming, and wilderness protections laws he passed are held up in court.

At Clinton's Global Initiative conference in New York, Richard Branson, Britain's eccentric billionaire and owner of Virgin Air announced that he would donate $3 billion over the next ten years to fund anti-global warming initiatives. Although criticized by some environmental groups for his over-reliance on bio-fuels, they recognize the call to action from one of the world's foremost business leaders.

Meanwhile, a federal district court yesterday ordered the reinstatement of the Clinton era "roadless rule" protecting nearly 50 million acres of wild national forests and grasslands from road building, logging, and development. The case was successfully fought by Earthjustice who though celebrating the win, expect further legal challenges to the rule.