http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/nov/15/obama-copenhagen-climate-talks-treaty
I came across this article today about Copenhagen and I thought maybe some of you might find the different views expressed interesting. The article talks about Obama's delay in submitting legislation regarding climate change due to the problem of the Senate's support. The article also talks about how if the US were to sign onto an agreement for reducing carbon emissions, China is thought to follow us. As China and the US are two of the countries producing the most carbon emissions, I agree that by us acting quickly and signing on at Copenhagen, the world will follow. The contrasting argument in this article is that Copenhagen may be too soon for the US. I just don't see how Copenhagen is too soon for the US to make a decision? I understand needed domestic support for the decision, but climate change has been known to be affecting our earth for decades. I think we should act now rather than have a repeat of our lack of participation in the Kyoto agreement....Sometimes I feel like the more the US procrastinates the issue of climate change, the more carbon emissions are added to our atmosphere, and it will be a lot harder to reverse our damage the longer the issue is pushed back.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree with you...I think procrastinating is certainly not the way to go. Although I found the author made some very valid points about the importance for giving the US ample time for planning while allowing Obama to gain some more domestic support, I feel like putting off action until 2010 can very easily turn into 2011...2012...2020...We don't have enough time for this numbers game. (And if people do think we have enough time, they need to open Fred Pearce's "With Speed and Violence" and read up on what a tipping point is.)
ReplyDeleteWe need action. Besides, I think trial-and-error is the most valuable way to learn how to plan for the best results...but that involves actually trying, not planning how one should go about trying. And if China (one of the biggest carbon emitters) is also waiting on the US then holding off on action could be doubly dangerous.