This is a picture I took on a visit to Madison Wisconsin. I like Madison for very many reasons. Funny pictures aside, Madison is a progressive city.The Mayor of Madison was recently in the news for joining the US Mayors Climate protection agreement. Mayors of 187 American cities, representing 40 million people in over 30 states, have signed the agreement to adopt Kyoto and pledged to reduce carbon dioxide pollution to 7% below 1990 levels by 2012
This is the second instance of a rebellion against Bush administration and its stance on Global Warming. The first revolt came when 9 Northeastern states decided to adopt Kyoto.
Did you know, the energy bill that was passed in August 2005 has a 8 billion dollar tax cut and incentives for the oil companies. This when Exxon Mobil is having a 75% profit increase in one quarter alone. How can the administration be so shameless?
Bush bashing aside, any discussion on the Kyoto protocol is not complete without talking about developing economies. China, India, and other developing countries were exempt from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol because they were not the main contributors to the greenhouse gas emissions during the industrialization period that is believed to be causing today's climate change.
I agree with the sentiment. Sentiments aside, is that a disastrous stance to take? If the recent NY Times article on China's growth is any indication, China will soon become the largest contributor of green house gases. In some ways, India is also a similar story. Developing economies need to be part of the overall effort. It is vital.
I would like to point out that India did ratify the treaty in August 2002. It is however exempted from the requirements of the treaty. So is India totally oblivious to Kyoto ? No. There are many companies in India vying for carbon reduction credits and are thus motivated to reduce co2 emissions. All such activities are however at a micro level. I feel India as a country needs to set an achievable and realistic carbon reduction target and put together policies that will help us get there.
We can all sit and complain that the rich nations ate all the pie. In my ever optimistic and wishful ways... I feel, if we all work together we might make up for all the wrongs of the past.
The cliche, "It will hurt our economy" is no longer acceptable. If we don't have a healthy environment, we don't have a future.
Quote of the day
"The future has a way of arriving unannounced"~George Will
6 comments:
"The future has a way of arriving unannounced"~George Will
The future is here and how!!! Most parts of India are under rain water. It's time individuals and not governements took a stand.
I agree. Individuals need to take a stand. They need to be aware of the issues and effects. Ultimately that awareness should drive public policy.
excellent post...our governments short-sightedness is galling...we certainly can live with a little less industrial productivity if it goes a long way in saving mother earth.
like silverine said individuals need to become watchdogs for society...with the internet and a blog i believe an individual can point out a company or an individual polluting our environment and do many similar things for society!!!
I have never been to Wisconsin, let alone Madison. But I give a big hat-tip to their mayor.
It's great to hear about these local rebellions going on all over the country. Eventually, we can hope that the activity at the grass-roots sends a message to the idiots at the federal level of this administration.
Great post, by the way!
My hubby was born in Madison, WI and it's one of my favorite places for the mounds I study. Oh, and my daughter got a real kick out of the cow picture.
I don't agree! Large populations are sustainable, the "Third World" is not a threat to the global environment and it is pointless to try to hold other nation's back. The reality is that nearly all decisions are made with a cost-to-benefit analysis, and progress/economic growth always trumpets all else. Which is good! Technology will take care of us all and the earth will be a-okay.
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