Global warming
Yes, globe is warming, even if Bush denies it
As the world's sole superpower, the
Good question.
The Bush administration's mantra on climate change is this: The science is not yet in to prove a link between man's gas-and-coal guzzling habits and rising global temperatures that are causing glaciers to shrink, polar ice caps to melt and seas to rise.
Yet, as
Another report last week further undercut claims of bad science: The New York Times disclosed that former oil industry lobbyist Philip Cooney, chief of staff of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, altered global warming reports to downplay links between emissions and climate change.
Cooney resigned, for what the White House insisted were unrelated reasons. President Bush repeated that the science is unclear.
Talk about the modern-day equivalent of the flat-Earth brigade. Taking action won't come cheap, but by denying the problem exists, Bush misses significant opportunities: Economic impact. The
But there also are compensating benefits. Most nations in the developed world are already putting mandatory caps on emissions and providing "green" incentives. Because many
In addition, major companies such as General Electric and Duke Energy are championing stronger government intervention. They crave an international uniformity of standards and general direction that they think is inevitable.
International goodwill. In 2001, the administration walked away from a global treaty the Kyoto Protocol that, after years of difficult negotiations, committed developed nations to reductions and caps on carbon emissions. The treaty was flawed because it didn't involve rapidly industrializing countries such as
Now, some states, notably
Next month, leaders of industrialized nations are meeting in