Posted on 01/14/2007 10:31:25 AM PST by blam
Bush set for climate change U-turn
Downing Street says that belated US recognition of global warming could lead to a post-Kyoto agreement on curbing emissions
Gaby Hinsliff, Juliette Jowit and Paul Harris
Sunday January 14, 2007
The Observer (UK)
George Bush is preparing to make a historic shift in his position on global warming when he makes his State of the Union speech later this month, say senior Downing Street officials. Tony Blair hopes that the new stance by the United States will lead to a breakthrough in international talks on climate change and that the outlines of a successor treaty to the Kyoto agreement, the deal to curb emissions of greenhouse gases which expires in 2012, could now be thrashed out at the G8 summit in June.
The timetable may explain why Blair is so keen to remain in office until after the summit, with a deal on protecting the planet offering an appealing legacy with which to bow out of Number 10. Bush and Blair held private talks on climate change before Christmas, and there is a feeling that the US President will now agree a cap on emissions in the US, meaning that, for the first time, American industry and consumers would be expected to start conserving energy and curbing pollution.
'We could now be seeing the beginning of a consensus on a post-Kyoto framework,' said a source close to the prime minister. 'President Bush is beginning to talk about more radical measures.'
The move will be seen as part of a wider repositioning of the Bush government after its comprehensive defeat in last autumn's mid-term elections.
A change of heart on the environment was signalled earlier this month when the US administration unexpectedly announced that polar bears were now an endangered species because their habitat
(Excerpt) Read more at observer.guardian.co.uk ...
Granted.
I will stand by my assessment
Then you go right ahead and stand by your assessment if that floats your boat. As for me, I'll criticize him anytime I feel he deserves it. As an American I have that right and I will exercise it at my discretion. I do not ask, by your leave, before I open my mouth to give my opinion. You don't like my opinion-tough. Then ignore it.
what a mess.
be prepared to buy the last car of your lifetime with a decent sized engine.
President Bush: ensuring that the Republican party will be in the minority for years to come.
BOHICA!
Well, if there is evidence that Bush is NOT going to call for carbon caps, please post it. I'd like to believe he's not that dumb.
Not to worry, I'll ignore not only your opinion but you as well.
the problem is - some states are going to kyoto route, on their own. California will start it, and the other big NE states will join. EPA has so far not allowed these states to regulate CO2 as an emission, but if they grant that waiver, then Kyoto has essentially begun with those states.
Praise, God!
It's ALWAYS Bush's fault! :-)
The economy is doing too well and Bush wants a much bigger part of a smaller economy for the government? If this is true then it constitutes Bush pretty much joining the Socialists to get a lead on the Democrats in the race to the left.
That's exactly how it should be: each state devising its own solutions as it sees fit. Of course, some will go too far, like Schwarzengger's California, but when an individual state goes too far, most of the misery doesn't get inflicted on the rest of the country.
I just checked on some of the authors' other stories...considering the source is still excellent advice.
You must think George Bush is responsible, since you brought him into the discussion. Why do you think he is?
He'll quote Gandalf the White. ;-)
If he really does push carbon caps (especially when there are other gases many times as potent as CO2), it will be just another reason to re-register as an independent once primary season is over.
I don't think he will. There was a report from last week that he's gung-ho for biofuels, conservation, and efficiency (which all make economic sense to me, anyway).
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