Posted on 09/22/2015 9:37:47 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
With the Paris World Climate Summit taking place in three months, scientists and politicians are raising concerns over the speed at which the effects of climate change are being addressed. Recently, developing countries demanded that the United States and other wealthy nations pay reparations for climate refugees affected in their respective countries. It is past time for the United States to pay its dues as it has a long history of climate inaction, and in 1997 was the only wealthy nation not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, a document which, for many nations, represented a first step in reducing their carbon footprint. The United States has already felt the effects of a changing climate, such as Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy, and should mitigate the consequences of these disasters with the country’s abundant resources that poorer nations cannot afford.
The question of environmental reparations is a matter of ecology and humanitarianism. A changing climate could lead to a dangerous trajectory where the fight for resources in countries no longer able to provide for their own populations engage in civil wars or genocide. If a country’s resources are not enough to maintain an entire population, more extremist leaders would be willing to eliminate part of the population in order to have enough resources for the remaining inhabitants. Even if such drastic incidences are not repeated, it is undeniable that dislocated populations are often forced into war or forced to live as refugees. By paying reparations, the United States would allow poorer countries to put in place infrastructure that may help prevent ecological catastrophes which would force populations to be dislocated in the first place. This infrastructure could include seawalls in coastal areas to prevent severe flooding and proper tools for irrigation that would help reduce the impact of drought — things that, if implemented properly, could make the difference between life and death for thousands of people.
Finally, the United States should pay reparations because it is a matter of justice — the United States and China together account for more than a third of all CO2 emissions, and we are far behind other wealthy nations in reducing our emissions. Unless international organizations like the United Nations begin to financially penalize the United States for its irresponsible actions, it is unlikely that we will change our attitude. If the reparation proposals fall short, it should hardly come as a surprise to most of us. But at the very least, we must let American politicians and climate lobbyists know that their inability to take action against climate change will not go unpunished, and that those who suffer as a result shall be in some way compensated.
“France owes me reparations for my Huguenot forebears who
were robbed of their property and driven out of the country.”
Russia owes both sides of my family a great deal of money for the land they stole and all of the natural gas taken from it. But this is probably not a good time to ask...
Let China show how this paying up for pollution is done. We need a guide in this matter.
Hey, how about the real polluters- China and India?
How about a 10% surtax on college tuition to go to climate reparations in North Korea?
Why not. Everyone else wants reparations. Why should we hold back?
I’ve debated these eco-fascists in bars.
I ask what percentage CO2 is in the atmosphere. They don’t know.
Then I ask what should be the optimum temperature of the Earth. They don’t know.
I ask what should be the optimum rainfall on Earth and where it should fall. They haven’t a clue.
Then I call them stupid Nazi apes to watch their heads explode.
ahh, Justice.
best administered with cold steel.
Funny, I read it exactly like you just edited it!
“The idea of Mr. Rogers flipping the bird makes me chuckle.”
I bust up every time I see that thing. Fred Rogers was never in the military. He was however, a trained pilot and a vegetarian.
Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeshan) was in the USMC Reserve but didn’t get overseas before Japan surrendered.
Too funny!!! Good one!
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