Maybe they’re starting to get it!
From CNN
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday told delegates to a global climate change conference that countries around the world must work together to combat climate change, much as they cooperate against terror and the spread of disease.
Was that filed under “O” for obvious or “D” for Duuuhhhhh?
Climate change is the single most important crisis this planet has ever faced. Never before have we ever known anything like it, and these critical years have suffered incompetent and evil leadership. At least it looks now like at least one of them might kinda/sorta be “getting it.” Of course it’s Condie Rice, the one person in the administration who (I bet) actually had to work to get where she is in life instead of having everything handed to her on a silver platter. You go, girl! Of course, your boss is still pig-headed:
Bush said he believes every nation should set its own goals. The president expressed concern that setting strict targets would damage the U.S. economy. Instead, he said, industries should enact voluntary measures.
The US economy always has been and always will be fine. If we had universal health care and a decent welfare/social security system (like the rest of the civilized world) we wouldn’t even have reason to worry about the economy, anyway, the government would be shouldering their share of the burden.
Voluntary measures will not and cannot ever work. “Industry” is run by the same bunch of evil, greedy, straight, fat, white men that government is. They’ll never sacrifice a nickel to save the planet, they can never have enough. We need regulation by responsible parties: The government or the environmental protection organizations (Greenpeace, ELF, PETA, etc.) You don’t ask a fox to watch the henhouse, do you? No, you get the police to do it.
She listed three points that she hopes delegates will focus on during the conference:
An agreement on a long-term goal for greenhouse gas reduction. The establishment of midterm national targets and programs tailored to each country’s economic and energy needs to reach the broader goal. The encouragement of work with private industry to develop new energy technology that doesn’t risk but accelerates economic growth.
That’s a good start, but it’s not nearly enough. We’re in crisis and we need to act accordingly. My plan:
- The United States will cease production of all carbon dioxide by the end of the year. Anyone or anything found to be producing CO2 will face huge fines and/or prison terms
- Half of the land that is currently being wasted on suburban sprawl (strip malls, Wal-Marts, NASCAR tracks, etc.) must be torn down and replanted as permanently protected National Forest by 2010.
- The US must dedicate 25% of it’s annual Federal budget to remediating the damage it has done to the planet. The UN will supervise the spending of the money so Bush and his cronies don’t steal all of it.
- Corporate profits will be capped at $1,000,000 and any excess will be added to the environmental remediation fund.
- No new corporations are allowed to be created, except non-profits.
- Any new car sold from now on must be a hybrid or an electric
These simple, relatively painless steps are not only what is necessary to save our planet, but it’s what the US owes the rest of the world. Our children (well, not mine!) will thank us.
September 27th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Here’s an idea. Instead of putting money towards Israel, so they can violate some more human rigts. Why don’t we use that money to make a vacuum to take out the pollution that we already gushed into our atmosphere. We can spend trillions on make jets to put pollution in the air and kill innocent civilians, but we can’t use that technology to mop up the mess we made up there?
September 27th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Good idea.
September 27th, 2007 at 4:52 pm
Not to deflate you, but hybrid cars are way, WAY worse than any gas chugging car currently spewing out toxins. The toxic foot print created by the creation of these cars consumes something like 10,000x MORE energy than is saved by the hybrid technology. Just thought you should know. For me, it’s either pure electric or bio-diesel.
September 27th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
I think you are severely missing a key point GFW, the CO2 and methane created by our agri-businesses. Each cheeseburger Billy Joe and his hillbilly brethren eat contributes to Mother Gaia’s further suffering. Each sausage they put in their mouth is disrupting the Goddess’ plan for the planet. For me, its a low methane producing diet of nothing but tofu.