US DOE says NO Negative impact on Economy, yet the US at the Climate Summit refuses full support for the Kyoto Protocol. Why?   I am a 20 year old Philosophy Major at the   College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio. This past   week I was a member of the US Student Climate   Summit in The Hague, Netherlands at the Sixth   Conference of the Parties (CoP6) to the United   Nations _frame_work Convention on Climate Change with myself   and 224 other American students from 44 different states attended   CoP6 as observers.   The Conference was billed as perhaps the last chance for countries to   Work it out (meaning the   Global-Warming Treaty) in time to meet their   pollution reduction commitments in 2012. What we   learned about the Umbrella Group of countries   (Japan, Australia, Canada, and the US) by   attending this crucial climate summit was   astonishing. Our own country was especially   disruptive to the process.   In the Hague I didn't see one single delegate,   organization, or observer who questioned the   science of climate change. You can talk about   volcanoes and history all you like, but the   science of our rapid impact on the climate has   become very clear to the rest of the world. The   chair of the IPCC, Bob Watson told everyone at   the convention on Monday that the world will warm   between 1.5 and 6 degrees celsius between now and   2100 and the best way for us to stop that is to   reduce our greenhouse gas pollution dramatically.   He concluded by telling all of the 160 country   delegates that the world is in your hands .   I was shocked at the stance of the United States,   my own country, having heard all of this sobering urgency from   every government leader, scientist, and   even economists at the convention. Our delegates   talked about economic efficiency and pragmatic   solutions all week. Despite serious pressure   from the rest of the world to compromise their   position, they remained married to the economy.   The sad part is that the US Department of Energy   had just put out a report saying that we could   meet our Kyoto agreement levels through more than   75% domestic emissions reductions With NO Impact   On The Economy.   Despite all of the evidence showing that   it made sense to fight for a strong Kyoto   Protocol, our government insisted on throwing in   ludicrous loopholes that led to the demise of the   talks.   Now I've returned home from Holland to the   land of big cars, big roads, big cities, big   hamburgers, and big egos. Having heard stories   from respected scientists, furious   environmentalists, and concerned German, African,   Asian, South American, AOSIS, French, and other   delegates about the need for a strong Kyoto   Protocol without loopholes and industry handouts, I am   primed to tell my story to every single American   I can find.   Our life_style_ is radically different from the   rest of the world, and it's no coincidence that   we contribute 25% of all greenhouse gas pollution   despite having only 4% of the world's population.   In the Hague I watched thousands of faces turn   sour at our country for ruining Kyoto Protocol. If this   Protocol does turn flat and the world does   continue to warm at an alarming rate, this   failure will not only be seen as unfortunate, it   will be seen as nothing short of a crime against   humanity. If only you could have seen what I   saw.   It's time for us all to step back from our   comfort zone and witness the casualties of our   oversized ecological footprint.   At the very least, we could join the rest of   the world in taking a conservative approach to   reducing our greenhouse gas pollution by telling   our representatives to help make a strong Kyoto   Protocol that doesn't give credit for business-   as-usual.   Sincerely,   Joshua Lynch Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ Before you buy.