On Mon, 6 Aug 2001, J. van Baardwijk wrote:
> At 00:20 6-8-01 -0400, John Giorgis wrote:
>
> >At 10:33 PM 7/31/01 -0500 Marvin Long, Jr. wrote:
> > >And actually, I'm going to humble myself, offer a sacrifice in the manner
> > >of the ancients, by spilling my virtual blood in the marketplace of ideas,
> > >and stammer, "You know, I think I'm beginning to agree with John about the
> > >Kyoto treaty."
> > >
> > >Man, that hurt.
> >
> >Ahh... there's hope for you yet, Marvin!
>
> No there isn't. Marvin, you're doomed... <grin>
Now y'all, let's don't jump to conclusions. Let me clarify: John's done
a pretty good job of convincing me that the Kyoto treaty has become a
hopeless muddle, and not entirely because of American intransigence. This
does not mean that I have become a fan of the Bush administration's
policies. Also, I do subscribe to the "put up or shut up" theory of
criticism, so shrill condemnations from nations that haven't ratified
Kyoto themselves strike me as being rather hollow.
On the other hand, although I'm happy to assume that European politicians
are just as self-serving and short-sighted as American ones, I don't think
they're pursuing any coordinated public-image vendetta against the US.
And I do think that any point-blank refusal on the part of the US to
participate in ongoing discussions is a pretty bad sign.
On the third hand (I have one because of the nuclear waste dump I built in
my backyard--I'm planning to sell storage space to the highest bidder)
there does come a time, sometimes, when you have to cut your losses and
start over. I have every reason to believe that the Bush administration
will never take global warming seriously on its face. On the other hand,
it will probably take seriously any concerted global attempt to curb
emissions if it seems politically the thing to do. By the same token, I'm
convinced that the politically greener nations of western Europe do take
global warming seriously, but won't do much about it if proposed measures
mean they will be placed at a long-term competitive disadvantage with
respect to the US or even with one another.
Marvin Long
Austin, Texas
Nuke the straight consumerist wildebeests for Buddha!
