Nov. 29, 2005 - 17:54 PST

COMPARED TO?

The Kyoto Protocol and the U.N. Climate Control Conference is featured in an article today from The Associated Press. Quoted in part is the article :

MONTREAL � � The United States defended its decision not to sign the Kyoto Protocol on Monday, saying during the opening of a global summit on climate change that it is doing more than most countries to protect the Earth�s atmosphere.�

�Dr. Harlan Watson, senior climate negotiator for the State Department, said that while President Bush declined to join the treaty, he takes global warming seriously and noted that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions had actually gone down by less than eight-tenths of a percent under Bush.�

�Watson said the United States spends more than $5 billion a year on efforts to slow the deterioration of the Earth�s atmosphere by supporting CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, and that Bush had committed to cutting greenhouse gases some 18 percent by 2012.

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First off in my mind, if our country is the top polluter in the world, we should darn well be way ahead of all other countries in reducing greenhouse gases � actively not just studying the situation. Less than eight tenths of one percent reduction is a sorry showing to my mind.

So, we are throwing away $5 billion a year on nothing concrete, research which can do nothing but back up what the scientists have been saying for years.

Of course, actually cutting back on greenhouse gas production in our country will hit the industrialists and businesses on the bottom line and will naturally make us John Qs tighten our belts a bunch - - - but thinking of the alternative, our grandchildren and great grandchildren knee deep in water and other sad effects of increased ice melt in the two poles. I for one would rather try to cope with the situation before it gets worse. But then, I am not supporting a fleet of RVs, docking a yacht or two and running a big factory while being a CEO of one of the huge corporations. My viewpoint is skewed according to the Republican outlook on things I guess.

Maybe our administration will declare pre-emptive war on greenhouse gasses or some other pie in the sky operation.

Big deal, $5 billion on research when the actual cut in U.S. greenhouse gasses is less than eight-tenths of one percent, I would say that in the classroom that wouldn�t even rate a low Dee grade. So Mr. Watson is doing what? Patting the country on the back for doing such a good job? COMPARED TO WHAT ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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