This morning, UN climate change talks collapsed once again, and the US is largely to blame. Yawn!!! And, once again, the United States finds itself on the same side of a critically important global issue as big OPEC oil producers. Hey, but what what else is new with the crazy, radical, dumbass Bush Administration? Nothing to see here...move along. Wake me up when it's over. Wait a minute, though! The story's not completely finished, and there is still hope left for the polar bears and that maddening, silly, big-brained species known as "homo sapiens."
As a
Reuters article on the UN climate change conference in Buenos Aires (which fell apart this morning) says: "Not all Americans [were] unpopular at this week's U.N. conference on climate change. Negotiators and green groups have embraced maverick U.S. states and companies moving ahead on emissions control, although the Bush administration has few friends at the conference after bowing out of the Kyoto agreement on fighting global warming." The article further points out that "multinationals such as DuPont, Alcoa and IBM have set their own greenhouse gas reduction targets," as has Ahnuld-led California, which "plans to cut emissions from new cars and trucks by 30 percent by 2016." Go Kah-lee-faw-nya! Go Ah-nuld! "We will ter-mee-nate carbon emissions!"
It's not just California, either: "Eighteen U.S. states require that some of their electricity be generated from renewable-energy sources. Furthermore, Republican governors from New York and Massachusetts are leading the creation of a regional emissions-cap system." Meanwhile, "U.S. companies are beginning to see business opportunities in emissions controls and don't want to lose out to Europe on what promises to be a booming market."
In other words, just about everyone is starting to "get it" on global warming except for the Bush Administration, big OPEC oil exporters, and China. Shit, even RUSSIA ratified Kyoto recently, even if it was for purely mercenary reasons. That's pretty sad. As Dennis Kucinich says, "Our federal government could make itself irrelevant on climate change policy."
As if the Bush Administration gives a flying you-know-what what Dennis Kucinich, environmental groups, European nations, the American public, liberal Republican governors, or even major (non-oil, non-defense) companies have to say. Uh, no. Instead, just like on every other issue, the Bushits will simply continue to fiddle and party (check out the obscene amount of money being spent on inauguration festivities) while the earth burns. Hey, at least these people have their priorities straight: Make sure the caviar stays cold while the earth heats up. God bless 'em. Or should that be "damn 'em all to hell?!?"