by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 2, 2007
All Rights Reserved.

eaching new findings about “global warming,” the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, concluded that global warming was “very likely” caused by human activity. Since withdrawing the U.S. from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol in 2001, calling for significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions, the White House has supported global-warming skeptics, attributing climate change to Mother Nature. Earth warming and rising sea levels “would continue for centuries . . . even if greenhouse gas concentrations were to be stabilized,” said a 20-page summary of the IPCC report. If there were still any doubt, the report indicates a 90% certainty that human activity contributes to climate change. It's impossible to account for the precise degree of interaction between human activity and natural warming, with most scientists believing CO2 reductions would help the problem.

      White House objections to the Kyoto Protocol involve likely adverse consequences to the U.S. economy, including inflationary pressures, job loss and possible recession. If the government required mandatory reductions in “greenhouse” gasses from burning fossil fuels, there would be “unintended consequences,” said Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, sending the exact wrong message to the international community. Since the Kyoto Protocol, there's been far too much talk about selfish economic fallout from requiring business and industry to adopt tougher environmental standards. Instead of disputing climate change, the White House should find more ways of playing good neighbor in the world community. Bodman said technological improvements, including, conservation, efficiency and alternative fuels, would help reduce U.S. output of greenhouse gasses.

      Bodman's assurance, while not an admission, acknowledges that fossil fuels contribute to greenhouse gasses and climate change. “We have aggressive but practical solutions,” said Stephen Johnson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. It's doesn't matter any longer whether any scientist disputes the causes of global warming. If there's anything industrialized countries can do to help the problem, then they must do their part. Even if it's scientifically determined that climate change is primarily due to natural causes, it doesn't absolve the responsibility of finding less toxic ways of generating and utilizing energy. For too long, the White House has cherry-picked scientists to dispute idea that man-made CO2 has caused global warming. Instead of acting defensively, the government should be moving closer to supporting the Kyoto Protocol.

      Too much political posturing has come from the left and the right. “Although President Bush just noticed that the earth is heating up, the American public, every reasonable scientist and world leaders have long recognized that global warming is real and it's serious. The time to act is now,” said Bush's 2004 rival Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), taking another shot at the White House. Bush's recent State of the Union message called for slowing greenhouse gasses, calling for a 20% reduction in gasoline consumption over the next 20 years, including using alternative fuels like corn-based ethanol. Unlike his critics, Bush has been reluctant to get behind mandatory reductions in greenhouse gasses, fearing adverse economic fallout. Since Sept 11., the economy has been teetering on recession, pushing the Federal Reserve Board to keep stimulating the economy.

      U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan currently costs the economy nearly $10 billion a month, forcing belt-tightening in other areas. Spending on social programs, relative to defense, including Social Security and Medicare, take a back seat to the military, frequently cited as America's first obligation. America has many obligations, including to over 70 million baby boomers scheduled to begin retiring in 2009, causing more stress on vital entitlement programs. If less tax dollars were wasted on Iraq, it's reasonable to expect they'd be more available for essential defense and social programs. Less waste, fraud and mismanagement would free up money for important environmental programs like cleaning up greenhouse gasses. Today's tight budget atmosphere leaves global warming low on the food chain. Wrapping up Iraq would offer savings in many other areas.

      No one wants the “unintended consequences” of global warming, including hurricanes, tsunamis and economic problems. Whether the world's on a warming trend doesn't release industrialized countries from reducing pollution adding to climate change. Critics of global warming must accept that humans have a role cleaning up the planet. “This report really provides strong weight behind those saying we need much stronger action,” from the United States, said Robert Watson, the World Bank's chief spokesman on global warming and former chairman of the U.N. panel on climate change. Overwhelming consensus among the world's top scientists believes that industrial pollution contributes to climate change. Whether one can pinpoint the exact role played in global warming from human activity or Mother Nature, doesn't excuse industrialized countries from acting responsibly.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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