> > Gore is right that the US needs to to take the lead. Europe has tried but > > all its efforts are being undone. > > This may be true but only in a kind of childish self fulfilling way. If the > US would stop derailing and get behind international initiatives they could > surely suceed. But the "my way or the highway" attitude of Americans tend > to doom anything that is not their own idea.
It is interesting that under Bush per capita CO2 emissions in the US have fallen modestly, while in a number of European countries there was a a modest rise. http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/international/iealf/tableh1cco2.xls The Democrats don't like nuclear power and some http://rawstory.com/news/2006/Democrats_to_propose_cutting_gas_tax_0425.html have even proposed lowering gasoline taxes. With the two easiest and cheapest ways of tackling climate change out, what's left? CAFE gives no incentive to drive the existing fleet less, and it could be met by producing just as many big cars as without CAFE, and on top of that loads of small cars that are either hardly driven, or driven by people that without CAFE wouldn't be driving at all. With gasoline taxes anathema, I doubt that Democrats would vote in a massive hike in electricity taxes. So how would Gore achieve the emissions cap? I think it's all a whole load of empty rhetoric, and in government, if elected in 2008, he'll get results undistinguishable from what would happen under a Republican president (like McCain or Guiliani). --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Global Change ("globalchange") newsgroup. Global Change is a public, moderated venue for discussion of science, technology, economics and policy dimensions of global environmental change. Posts will be admitted to the list if and only if any moderator finds the submission to be constructive and/or interesting, on topic, and not gratuitously rude. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/globalchange -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
