(Here's the link for cutting and pasting or click the title above -- there have been some mysterious tech problems with this link):
>http://www.na.unep.net/OnePlanetManyPeople/index.php< href="http://http//www.na.unep.net/OnePlanetManyPeople/index.php">
By the way, fuck Bush and fuck the media. There is no debate about global warming.
UPDATE: Could it be? From The Guardian:
US close to climate concessions
Look, climate change is real, has scientific basis, and has clearly anthropogenic causes. There is a wee bit of debate regarding the nature and quantity of anthropogenic climate change, but it's negligible in the face of the problem. The worst polluting state, the biggest contributor to greenhouse gases, is the United States. There is, of course, a huge debate over what to do and how best to do it. The Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is not a panacea. Kyoto calls for a global 5% reduction in carbon emissions with 1990 levels as the baseline for emissions. Since the US has greatly increased emissions over the 1990's and 2000's, this reduction would mean that the US take serious measures. So there is reason to be wary of Kyoto. But the reason is that Kyoto doesn't do enough; not the other way around. Proponents of the Kyoto Protocol maintain that it's a solid first step. This may also be true. But it will require real commitment on the part of the US.
One of the central arguments the US administration uses for criticizing Kyoto is that developing countries such as China and India are exempt from Kyoto reductions. There is merit to this claim. But there is also merit to the argument that atmospheric problems are the result of long-term industrial development on the part of the "developed" countries, not the result of Chinese or Indian industrial development. The question of responsibility has to be included into any kind of accord. This shouldn't exempt major industrializing countries from taking their own steps at carbon emissions reductions, but it does mean that the bulk of the responsibility rests on the shoulders of the industrialized states. The principal state here is the US. Since this administration takes no action, it is irresponsible and the president's claims are specious. The claim about lack of scientific evidence or the developing countries argument are really quite superfluous in the face of the long-term problem of climate change. And, fundamentally, this is going to require Americans to think differently about economic life.
A good website for following climate change research, arguments, policy suggestions, etc. is Real Climate:
UPDATE:
By the way, fuck Exxon too.
UPDATE:
Ah, yeah, well, whatever.... But Bush at least reluctantly admits the existence of science via a papal decree by one of his "sherpas":
Bush rejects Kyoto-style deal at G-8 summit
Another by the way: Sherpas are an ethnic group of Nepal originally from Tibet. They live mostly in the east of the country around Namche Bazaar and elsewhere near Everest. The word "sherpa" basically means "easterner" in Tibetan. Anglophones climbing the eastern mountains (namely, Everest) hired Sherpa people who lived in the region as porters. Many have become some of the best climbers in the world, and the first person to summit Everest was a Sherpa: Tenzing Norgay, who climbed the mountain with Sir Edmund Hillary. One can hire a porter anywhere in Nepal, but they may be from the Gorkha, Thakali, Dhangar, Chepang, or any number of other ethnic groups. But the word "sherpa" has come to mean in English something like "anyone who carries your bags." It's a bit like saying, if you lived in Mexico and had a cook, that anyone who now makes something for you is your "Mexican" or saying that someone who cooks for you while you're in Bolivia is your "Mexican."
No comments:
Post a Comment