Kayakas!

WASHINGTON–  President Bush, during a speech to the US Global Leadership Campaign, discussed his plan to bring 15 major nations into cooperation on the handling of Global Warming.  Bush’s announcement comes less than a week before the G8 Summit, where climate change and global warming will be major issues.  The presidents plan calls for 15 industrial nations to come to the negotiating table before the end of this year, and create an outline for dealing with green house gases.  These talks would be attended by world leaders, industrial heads, leading climate experts, and alternative energy scientists.  In all, the international legislation would further postpone the United States from entering into  a binding climate agreement.  Since the finalization of the Kyoto Protocol, The United States has failed to lead the worlds fight against green house gases.  America is the number one world producer of green house gases, followed by China who produce about 56% of American emissions.  Ignoring the fact that the United States is a major cause of climate change, the Bush administration has vowed never to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.  The president has said that due to special considerations given to China and India, and because he feels lowering greenhouse gases could place undue stress on big business, the United States cannot ratify the agreement.  This attitude sounds less like a world leader and more like a elementary school student.  With or without full cooperation of India and China, America needs to be part of the overall global solution to climate change.  Even the Supreme court has ruled that the central government needs to take control of green house gases.  In the case of Massachusetts v. EPA, the high court ruled that the government agency did have the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions and other green house gases, and that its rationale for not utilizing that authority was unacceptable.  Of course the ruling did not go unchallenged, Justices Roberts and Alito, both recently appointed by President Bush, were joined by two others in filing a dissent form the bench.  It is not surprising that appointees of the Bush administration would try to rule against a case as straight forward as the one presented against the EPA.  Chief Justice Roberts even went as far to say that there was “no judgment on whether global warming exists, what causes it, or the extent of the problem.”  This statement is hard to understand coming form a so called educated man, every reputable scientist in the field has shown that global warming exists,that it has been perpetuated by human activity, and that it is possibly the gravest situation facing our generation.  The Kyoto agreement calls for ratifying Annex 1 nations, developed nations, to reduce their green house gas emissions to 5% less than their 1990 levels.  For some EU nations these means dropping back as much as 15% of their current levels.  Germany and Great Britain have gone a step farther and agreed to a 60% cut by 2050.  The Bush Administration rejected that accord less than a week ago, further alienating itself from the international community.  The Bush plan has no binding language and creates no international governing body, and is for the lack of a better term “worthless”.   The United States first needs to ratify the existing Kyoto agreement, and then work with other governments to set the next goals after Kyoto has expired.  Without America the worlds efforts are merely a “drop in the bucket”.  The United States has said time and time again that we will lead the world in the fight against terror, well whats is more terrifying than not having a world.

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