Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Global Warming and the G8
Big Surprise. Bush is opposing any limits on greenhouse gas production by G8 nations at the G8 summit this week. This appears to be a reversal of his position from just a week ago that limits are needed.
He said at that time that he accepted the notion that we had to have concrete goals for greenhouse gas limits. Of course, he also said he wanted to give countries a year and a half to think about what those goals should be, which means he would be leaving the White House at precisely the time when he proposed meetings should be convened. Nonetheless, at least it was an agreement in principle to the notion that enforceable limits are needed.
His representative at the G8 summit, however, has made it clear that the Bush acknowledgement is not much more than lip service to appease our allies, and that the US will not accept any agreement on limits, and certainly it won't sign on to the 50% reduction in 5 years proposed by Germany.
I worry that by the time the US finds the will to do something about global warming, the process will already be beyond remedy.
I also worry that no one in America, or at least very few individuals and no politicians, are ready to make the choices that would be needed to implement this kind of change. For one, mass transit systems in all large and medium sized cities. Few politicians are going to vote for that kind of expensive public works project until gas prices are beyond the pale. Further, few suburbanite Americans are going to be willing to put up with the longer commute times, and greater hassle involved in most public transport, until gas prices are eating deeply into their budgets.
Given that situation, I doubt we have the will as a people to take decisive action on global warming and over consumption.
He said at that time that he accepted the notion that we had to have concrete goals for greenhouse gas limits. Of course, he also said he wanted to give countries a year and a half to think about what those goals should be, which means he would be leaving the White House at precisely the time when he proposed meetings should be convened. Nonetheless, at least it was an agreement in principle to the notion that enforceable limits are needed.
His representative at the G8 summit, however, has made it clear that the Bush acknowledgement is not much more than lip service to appease our allies, and that the US will not accept any agreement on limits, and certainly it won't sign on to the 50% reduction in 5 years proposed by Germany.
I worry that by the time the US finds the will to do something about global warming, the process will already be beyond remedy.
I also worry that no one in America, or at least very few individuals and no politicians, are ready to make the choices that would be needed to implement this kind of change. For one, mass transit systems in all large and medium sized cities. Few politicians are going to vote for that kind of expensive public works project until gas prices are beyond the pale. Further, few suburbanite Americans are going to be willing to put up with the longer commute times, and greater hassle involved in most public transport, until gas prices are eating deeply into their budgets.
Given that situation, I doubt we have the will as a people to take decisive action on global warming and over consumption.
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There is another way to force the issue. Find out which companies are the worst pollutors, and boycott their products publicly. When they lose money, change happens.
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