Bush43 On Mt. Rushmore?

Gulp! Let me digest this a bit and maybe regurgitate for others to relish. The Bush43 June 1 global warming announcement flipped conventional wisdom on its head. B43 has killed Kyoto! G8 be dammed! He assured American (owned) businesses of its desired regulatory clarity by launching an international system that the US will heavily influence, if not control outright. A Chinese environmental white paper was released in days, on June 4, and segways seamlessly with the Bush43 plan ignoring Kyoto's very existence. With Australia and Canada unwilling to divorce their climate policy from the US, the likely membership in any Kyoto II accord would be limited to Europe (EU) alone.

Refresh. To be effective, any climate change regimen must include the big 5 in emitters, the US, China, India, Canada and Australia. By bringing the Pacific Rim countries into alignment on the issue, Bush43 has brought the US far more power over global greenhouse gas emissions policy than Europe (Kyoto) ever did have. With this single stroke, Bush43 has taken away from the Europe Union its one global foreign policy success story. And established American dominance if not hegemony! Neo Con Goal Numbero Uno!

History. The Kyoto Protocol signed in 1997 by more than 75 countries, is the currently recognized international regime on climate change. The protocol is an addendum to the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change. Under Kyoto, each party agreed to cut its emissions by a specific amount from its 1990 level by 2010. (The European Union signed up for an 8 percent cut, the US [under Clinton] for 7 percent and Japan for 6 percent.) When the revised Protocol reached Washington in 1998, in the Senate - 2/3rds vote required to approve - Kyoto was declared DOA - "dead on arrival." In fact, the Senate voted unanimously NOT to enter into any treaty that made specific demands on the US but did not similarly impose demands on China and India, among others. Pres. Clinton never introduced the Protocol to the Senate. But in ancy case, the agreement expires in 2012.

Maneuvering. Within four months of taking office, Bush43 did the same - rejected Kyoto outright - saying the US would take no part in talks regarding a treaty it had no interest in joining. Greenpeace dubbed him the "Toxic Texan." Given that the US is the world's single-largest source of carbon emissions, any deal that does not have explicit American buy-in simply cannot achieve the ultimate end goal. (Note: China recently surpassed the US in g/h gas emissions).

Mission Accomplished! Whatever you think about global warming, it is a foregone conclusion that, under Bush43, the US will not pass a greenhouse gas-emissions-reducing policy on environmental grounds. Greenhouse gas control advocates tried another approach. One of the few things businesses dislike more than patchwork regulation is unpredictability. By having a dozen or more constantly changing regulatory schemes is about as uncertain as one can get. The Greens thought business would force B43 into some agreement.

OTOH, it turned out US environmental groups and European governments miscalculated. The latter assumed that dropping discussion of Kyoto I would lead Washington to participate in Kyoto II; instead, it led W-DC to the Pacific. Bush43 has engaged China, India, Australia, Canada and even a disconsolate Japan - birthplace of the Kyoto Protocol - in separate negotiations outside the Kyoto system.

Fait Accompli. Called the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, this strategy eschews firm caps on emissions - which Americans, Chinese and Indians oppose. Europeans at first saw this "Pacific direction" as a stall tactic, but thought it acceptable as long as the original goals remained intact. B43's next job is simple. Wait until the Europeans declare Kyoto and Kyoto II dead (the protocol was mortally wounded at the G-8 summit in Gleneagles) and bally-hoo the New Asian-Pacific partnership offering to let them in. On our terms. Neo Con Doctrine!

Conclusion. The Europeans are looking not just at a policy defeat, but also at the EU's strategic failure by never agreeing to a joint foreign policy. Still more Neo Con Doctrine! For those who believe that nothing but firm caps as in the Kyoto Protocol, will forestall global warming, this is an unmitigated disaster. OTOH, for those who feel that any successful global policy has to include the major non-European emitters, this new reality will be seen as a successful first step in a way that Kyoto never was. And one more facet of Neo Con Doctrine!

Bush43 On Mt Rushmore?

Heaven on Earth? OK, so we've been told there is not room for a 5th "head" to be carved into the mountain. So who comes out so B43 can go in? Hmm? There is Washington. And Lincoln. And Jefferson. And T. Roosevelt. Hmm? Now Jefferson is the icon of the Democrats. How better to flaunt your success as the First Neo Con President and the first designated president, then by chiseling out Jefferson’s likeness and carving into that space, George Walker Bush!?

The Smirk Lives!

[edit on 6/6/2007 by donwhite]

"The smirk lives" LMSAO.



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Hmmm, looks quite nice actually.

[edit on 6-6-2007 by SpeakerofTruth]

Well I have never taken Kyoto seriously so I have to side with the leaders who refused to implement Kyoto treaty. Regional agreements seem to be the way to go although such a agreements still wont be effective unless the likes of China and other third world countries aren't exempted.

I'm all for protecting the environment but if implementing the likes of Kyoto is spouse to stop climate change then were barking up the wrong tree. I would rather see tax incentives rather then a global trading carbon scheme. While I don't agree with Kyoto Bush and co have still missed the boat when it comes to reducing carbon emissions mind didn't the Republican Congress in the 90s fail to pass tax incentives for clean energy measures ?