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sometimes you need to follow
Posted on May 31, 2007 | Filed Under the natural world
New York Times headline: Bush Calls for Global Goals for Emissions
It is not our place to take the lead on this one. We need to follow! Because on this issue, we are way, way, way behind the rest of the world. It is disingenuous and disrespectful to try to set the direction for a global response to climate change, when we are the ones, almost the only ones, who have been ardently resisting any credible response. The standards are already there and most of the world has agreed to abide by them. Let’s get on board! Let’s swallow our pride (or our megalomania) and follow!
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One Response to “sometimes you need to follow”
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Global climate change is a serious issue, with serious consequences. It is a human crisis that cuts across national and political and ideological lines. The frustrations expressed in my post come from the long resistance of our own government even to acknowledge publicly that there is a problem. We have not wanted to lose any economic advantage or put any constraints in the way of unlimited economic expansion.
But the gravity of this issue runs deeper than any environment/economy dichotomy. Whatever you may think about the spotted owl controversy, this is no spotted owl! We’re not talking about “feel-good environmentalism” but the prerservation of life, human and otherwise.
That’s why I don’t think a plan that simply encourages economic growth and the development of new technologies along the way is enough. The driving force for business and industry is making money, not ensuring the health and well-being of the planet. Certainly, any economy needs a planet (until we develop the means to live elsewhere!) and so will not deliberately destroy its resource base. And yet, economic self-interest is something rather different than moral obligation. What responsibilities do we have, not just to our shareholders, but to our neighbors, rich and poor, friend and stranger?
This is where government can and must act, for the sake of the people, for the sake of all the people. I do believe this problem is serious enough that some sort of mandatory guidelines, hard reduction targets, will be necessary. Kyoto may or may not be the answer, but I am waiting for our nation to show that it takes the enormity of this crisis seriously and is ready to work with the rest of the world in solving it.