Australia recently agreed to follow the terms of the Kyoto Protocol, which now means that the United States is the only major economy that has not joined the global movement to reduce carbon emissions. Although the Clinton administration agreed to the Kyoto Protocol, it was not ratified by Congress, and since then the Bush administration has rescinded Clinton’s agreement. Coincidentally, Bush also hosted this year’s Nobel Prize laureates yesterday, including Al Gore, who was awarded along with 2,000 scientists for his work in advancing awareness of global warming. These and other recent events seem to indicate an increasing worldwide trend toward greater environmental awareness and advocacy, but what is surprising and disappointing is that the U.S. is not leading the charge. We pride ourselves on being the sole superpower, with the strongest military and technology to back it up, coupled with the most carbon emissions globally until China surpassed us this year.
Given these circumstances, the burden of responsibility is heaviest for the U.S. to reform its production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. While the chance of anything happening on this front during the current administration are fairly slim, it is still discouraging to observe the campaigns of candidates for the 2008 elections and realize that global warming is still not one of the top concerns of voters today. Instead, it is whether or not gay people are allowed to marry, or whether a woman has control over her own body during a pregnancy. It’s time for the American public to recognize there are far greater things at stake: namely that if the issue of global warming is not addressed head-on, generations of humans later, our planet will not be salvageable.
