Kyoto the forgotten treaty Many things have been said over global warming and the environmental implications that it brings. Everything from our imitate death to better growing seasons have been predicted by so called experts. As I reflect on the articles presented in class and the video that we watched in class it is not difficult to decide what side of the coin I am on. Although I am sympathetic towards big business and the fact the profits must be made there is a harsh reality that these people must face, unless we seriously cut back our pollution emissions there will be nothing left.
Kyoto was a step in the right direction for the world powers and if it is abandoned I fear that by the time we come to an agreement that is suitable we will have gone the way of the Dodo bird. Much like it was mentioned in the Easter's End article it was more then likely the tribe leaders cut down every last tree and harvested every last thing on the island instead of trying to manage the resources they had.
Kyoto - Calle
Kyoto
United StatesThe world trade bodies of the world now have powerful new anti environmental powers to assist big business in going about their business without regard for the environmental impacts it will have. The WTO now has the power to sue governments. Meaning that if a country in the WTO was to establish a wilderness reserve and it interfered with a logging company's profits the WTO could sue a government for interfering in the logging company's business. The Canadian government subsidies the companies that cut down the trees. Without those subsidies the logging industry of the West Coast isn't profitable and there for the companies would stop cutting trees until it was profitable, thus giving the trees time to recover. Using the natural laws of supply and demand, industry will self regulate in this particular regard and be beneficial for the environment.
The Kyoto agreement was moving towards global improvement. When the American's decided to back out of he treaty it for all intensive purposes was dead. Some articles we read argued that this would leave room for improvement and an even better treaty would emerge from the ash lead by the leader of the free world, George W. Bush. I have little faith that a rich, spoiled, former cokehead will lead us to the environmental promised land. The death of Kyoto means that we have to start the whole process over again. At least if the countries were trying to get in line with Kyoto we would have some reduction of emissions and once those quotas were met in 10 or 20 years the countries would be ready to get together again and try to create an even more rigorous environmental plan. For Bush to say that the Kyoto plan was to expensive for America to implement, was a slap in the face to all the other countries that only wish their GDP was half the size of the United States'.
The wold needs to stand up and recognize that America clearly lacks the leadership to push a sweeping environmental plan. The wold needs to lower its emissions levels and fast. We need to stop big business from making all the decisions, currently industry has the free world in its back pocket, the oil industry, (the same people who said that global warming would be good for Canadians' golf game with the higher tempters), have the president of the United States looking out for their interests. The World Trade Organization, is made up of government and business officials, the WTO doesn't even have a clear policy on pollution is only sees profit. The little man is going to have to fight for a realistic way to save the finite resources because it's become clear that government and industry only see as far as the next pay day.
United States
United States
English: Official photograph portrait of former U....