The Bush Administration has, according to the semi-official Administration newspaper, the New York Times, "for the first time mostly blames human actions for recent global warming."
Notwithstanding the awkward construct of that sentence, this information is contained in a document published on the internet by the Environmental Protection Agency, "U.S. Climate Action Report 2002."
The European Union and Japan have just approved the Kyoto Treaty which calls for specific reductions in pollutants by the biggest industrialized nations with the minor exceptions of China and India which happen to be two of the world's top five polluters.
As you may remember, I have actually been to India. The only positive thing which can be said about pollution in the major cities there is this: They can't possibly put any MORE crap in the air than they do now. Of course, India is on the precipice of producing atmospheric pollutants which are not actually covered by Kyoto.
No one. No one believes the Kyoto Treaty will have any real impact on global warming. That the EU and Japan are ratifying the treaty - SEVEN YEARS after it was initialed - tells us that this has more to do with trying to gain an economic advantage than any serious interest in greenhouse gasses.
A full year ago, USA Today quoted ex-Clinton Administration officials as saying complying with Koyoto would be, "more expensive to American consumers than they thought when they were in charge."
Giving them the benefit of the doubt - which is to say they weren't actively lying to promote a political agenda - the Clintonistas suggested that in complying with Kyoto "gasoline prices would inch up no more than 6 cents a gallon."
This was, of course, horse hockey. The real cost - according to the Clinton Administration's own Energy Department (in estimates not actually publicized at the time) - was TEN TIMES that amount: "An average of 66 cents per gallon," according to USA Today.
The Bush Administration has held that rather than cutting off our economy at the knees, the US should use all of the tools available: Research, voluntary reductions, incentives, and the like to reach the goals.
White House Economic Advisor, Larry Lindsey, made the point this way: "In 1900 a light bulb cost roughly $20 in today's currency; today it costs 40 cents, lasts at least 10 times longer, and uses a fraction of the electricity to generate the same amount of candlepower."
The EU and Japan both know there is no chance, zero, that President Bush will endanger the fragile recovery by putting ankle weights on the U.S. economy. So this action is a free shot - a cheap shot - on their part.
In fact, the EU and Japan would faint dead away if we did that. As the saying goes, when the U.S. economy catches a cold, the other major economies get pneumonia.
The U.S. is constantly referred to as "the world's largest polluter," ignoring the fact that we are also the world's largest - and most efficient - producer.
The EPA report suggests, in fact, that as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, greenhouse gasses in the U.S. have actually been REDUCED by 17 percent between 1991 and 2001.
Here's the Mullings idea du jour: If trees act as a CO2 sink, why not ask - nay require - farmers who, in that recent farm bill, are being paid to set acreage aside from growing soybeans, corn, or - dare we say it? Sorghum - to plant trees instead.
Young, fast-growing trees use more carbon dioxide in the photosynthesis process than mature trees, so by planting hundreds of thousands of trees on otherwise fallow land American farmers can help greenhouse gas-belching factories operate safely in India, China, the European Union, and Japan.
Here is yet another reason President Bush is America's Kind of Guy. From the transcript of the President's
chat with the press pool at the National Security Agency yesterday (at which The Lad was the lead advance person):
Q Mr. President, you've got a lot going
on foreign policy-wise right now, the Middle
East meetings later this week, the continued
efforts here. Is this all moving Iraq to the
back burner?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think you need to read my
speech that I gave at West Point. If you haven't,
I'll get you --
Q I was there, sir.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh. I think you need to have
listened to my speech I gave at West Point.
(Laughter.)
On the Secret Decoder Ring page
today: A COMPLETE discussion of photosynthesis and why leaves change color, as well as the usual things.
If you are working at a lobbying firm, a government affairs office, a coalition, or a PAC you should take a
look at this page to see how advertising in Mullings might serve your organization very well:
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