Posted on 12/18/2006 12:08:55 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Climate-change activists and Democrats on Capitol Hill are gearing up to push the U.S. to limit so-called greenhouse gases. In their telling, America must save mankind from an eco-Apocalypse by adopting the arbitrary targets popular with Europe and other Kyoto Protocol signatories.
Well, let's look at results in the real world, as opposed to this Kyoto spin. Recent data show that placing artificial limits on emissions hasn't done all that much to reduce emissions, and may even be counterproductive. Contrary to caricature, the American approach offers more promise than Europe's.
As the nearby chart shows, CO2 emissions growth in the U.S. far outpaced that of the 15 "old" members of the European Union from 1990-95 and especially from 1995-2000, when Mr. Climate Change himself, Al Gore, was the second-most powerful man in America. But, lo, the U.S. has outperformed the EU-15 since 2000, according to the latest U.N. data. America's rate of growth in CO2 emissions from 2000-04 was eight percentage points lower than from 1995-2000.
By comparison, the EU-15 saw an increase of 2.3 points. Only two EU states, Britain and Sweden, are on track to meet their Kyoto emissions commitments by 2010. Six more might meet their targets if they approve and implement new, as yet unspecified, policies to restrict carbon output, while seven of the 15 will miss their goals.
Cynics play down America's improvement, noting that its economy cooled from the earlier years to 2000-04. True, but the EU-15 also had lower economic growth in the latest period and still saw its emissions growth rate double. What's more, the U.S. economy expanded 38% faster than the EU-15 in 2000-04, and its population twice as fast. So the trend lines, for now, are reversing...
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
PING!
Have at it...
Down with C02! Stop breathing!
or at least gag the liberals...
They left out the part where the US not only absorbs all its CO2 emissions, it also removes one-third of the CO2 from the air that passes over it. Not surprisingly, this information has been public knowledge since 1998, but not widely reported.
We are a net absorber of CO2, not an emitter. The rest of the world should copy us.
How can we be certain if we don't nuke France?
I would not be against nuking other EU members that have gone against us over the War on Terror, but we have to start some place. Let's start with France.
"America must save mankind"? Here we go again! How come France doesn't have to same "mankind"? Never mind.....dumb question. They would surrender first.
The Democrats are trying to sell out our economy, our military and our country.
They are more dangerous than Al Quaeda.
The environmentalists (communists in green jackets) and Democrats (socialists in donkey suits) will be yelling and trying to tax, limit and hobble our U.S. economy in the coming two plus years.
Don't buy into the lies they spin to justify turning the USA into a poor copy of Zimbabwe. Don't think "carbon credits and junk science are the answer to our now vibrant economy.
Not much I can do with it. I wonder how much the EU numbers are affected by having a lingering end-of-the-Cold War legacy, like in Germany.
BAN Dihydrogen Monoxide !!!
I think the German numbers were actually positive (in reducing CO2) after a lot of inefficient factories in East Germany were shut down. I bet that cut down on soot pollution as well.
The difference is due to europes stagnating economy, as millions of people continue to believe in some socialist nanny state nonsense.
So be it. Europe is a dead place, its time to close down all our bases there and let it become the dead backwater it so richly deserves.
If cow flatulence is destroying the ozone layer, what about that methane that is emitted from various french cavities.
American's think nothing of showering daily, or more often if required. The french believe that bathing once a season is fine and generally skip the winter bath. It's the reason they invented perfume, to cover the smell so that they could get close enough to make love.
Ah, my dear, you smell like the pot.
We don't need to stop breathing, we just need to stop exhaling. And the trees need to quit inhaling. Then all will be right with the world.
That's interesting. Do you have a source for this? Thanks.
why would the trees need to quit inhaling? wouldnt you want them to soak up as much CO2 as possible? =P
Hey! No fair! This is liberalism, you're not supposed to look at RESULTS!
I would not be against nuking other EU members that have gone against us over the War on Terror, but we have to start some place. Let's start with France.
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LOL. Why wouldn't you just suggest nuking the actual bad guys? The government of France (I can't say I have anything substantial against her people) is like its poodles. Just freaking annoying to look at and to listen to, but mostly harmless.
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