George Will on global warming

Funny...don't recall all the libs who voted against Kyoto admitting they were wrong.

 

hondo --

The OED trumps Websters, even in the US.

And I don't understand your fascination with Kyoto. It was a bad treaty. Does that make you feel better?

It doesn't change a single salient fact that needs to be discussed.

 

Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

China, India and Mexico don't have anywhere near the pollution controls in place to control emissions from factories, automobiles, etc. that America does. Not even fucking close.

We may be part of the problem but we're not even close to causing a "big chunk" of the problem.

 

A_QB --

Most of those controls have been fairly recent.

And we drive a damn lot, and that isn't helping anything.

Again, pointing out that other people might be worse doesn't mitigate our responsibility.

 

What does it matter?

If the US is responsible for 20 percent of the world's pollution, it's too much. If we're responsible for 10 percent, it's too much. If we're responsible for 2 percent, we should be working to get it down to 1 percent.

 

Yes, and in the definitive reference work of the English language--the Oxford English Dictionary--it is spelled "enquiry" with an American alternate, "inquiry".

And no, this is not the U.S. It's a message board on the Internets. It's everywhere.

You need to get out more often.

 

That's all well and good but to say we're responsible for the bulk of the problem is idiotic.

 

See little merit in the idea of the US economy falling on its sword while China and India run wild.

Screw that.

 

Wel, A_QB, how about saying we've been part of the problem for longer?

Is that closer to accurate?

And I'm not saying we're responsible for all or even most of the problem. But we have our burden to shoulder, and we need to get to work on it, regardless of what other nations do.

And we're certainly not blameless.

 

Actually, he didn't refute anything I said, in brief or at length, FB.
I'm talking about real people, not theoretical people.

 

From the NRDC

What country is the largest source of global warming pollution?

The United States. Though Americans make up just 4 percent of the world's population, we produce 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel burning -- by far the largest share of any country. In fact, the United States emits more carbon dioxide than China, India and Japan, combined. Clearly America ought to take a leadership role in solving the problem. And as the world's top developer of new technologies, we are well positioned to do so -- we already have the know-how.


I'm sure the doubters will reflexively attack the source of the numbers. But they're authentic. We also consume more than a third of the world's resources. And have, for almost a century.

And to whomever thought the air in Shanghai was really bad - the next time you travel, set your Wayback machine for 1960 or so, and visit Pittsburgh or Detroit or Los Angeles. That's about where China is now industrially. We changed our laws based on the damage we were doing to ourselves - why won't they eventually?

 

Article in today's Globe & Mail about China and pollution.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070207.CHINA07/TPStory/?query=global+warming

"It must be pointed out that climate change is the result of long-term emissions by the developed countries," Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said. "Developed countries bear an unshirkable responsibility."

Another official portrayed China as too poor to afford the proper technology. "China is still a developing country with a huge population," said Qin Dahe, the top Chinese representative at climate-change negotiations. He said China lags "far behind" the industrialized world in its anti-pollution technology. And he evaded questions about whether China would restrict emissions.

Translation: Please send money to help us build anti-pollution technology.