Nation: In 1979 Gus Speth, a Yale-trained lawyer and co-founder of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), became chair of President Carter’s Council on Environmental Quality. He was 37. Approached by two scientists concerned about the rise in the earth’s temperatures as a result of increased carbon emissions, Speth commissioned a study. “It created quite a stir,” he says. “It got a lot of media attention…. In 1981 we knew enough that I’m quoted in the New York Times saying we ought to cap …