The Kyoto global warming pact - which marked its 10th anniversary Tuesday - was brokered under vastly different circumstances from those facing negotiators this week as they map out an agenda for a successor agreement.
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The Kyoto pact requires 36 industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Australia announced last week it would join, leaving the United States as the only major developed economy to have rejected it...Read More..
To inspire your commentary here is a video of Bangkok sinking, it's from Al-Jazeera English. I know some of the commentators don't like Al-Jazeera (shocking), so here is a raw video of the sinking streets of Bangkok, here is also some related literature from American sources... Time.com, usatoday.com.
A group called OECD released some some interesting details and graphs about who Climate change will effect in monetary and population terms. MSNBC Reports.
PARIS - The number of people threatened by coastal flooding due to climate change could more than triple by 2070 and the value of exposed property could balloon to $35 trillion, according to a report released Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development...Read More...
Top 10 Most Cities Likely to be Impacted.
1. Calcutta, India
2. Bombay/Mumbai, India
3. Dhaka Bangladesh
4. Guangzhou, China
5. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
6. Shanghai, China
7. Bangkok, Thailand
8. Rangoon, Myanmar/Burma
9. Miami, USA
10. Hai Phong, Vietnam
Top 10 Populations exposed
1. BombayMumbai, India
2. Guangzhou, China
3. Shanghai, China
4. Miami, USA
5. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
6. Calcutta, India
7. New York, USA
8. Osaka-Kobe, Japan
9 Alexandria, Egypt
10. New Orleans, USA
Top 10 Most Financially exposed Cities
1. Miami, USA
2. New York, USA
3. New Orleans, USA
4. Osaka, Japan
5. Tokyo, Japan
6. Amsterdam, Netherlands
7. Rotterdam, Netherlands
8. Nagoya Japan
9. Tampa/St. Petersburg,USA
10. Virginia Beach, USA
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. The Kyoto treaty would have the U.S. paying for everything and American industry spending billions to meet arbitrary criteria while China, India and the rest of the world does nothing. Kyoto is like the U.N. existing only to stick it to the U.S.
Hey, Jeff, on the heels of Gore recieving his Nobel Sham Award let's discuss the fact that Gore's hysterical rantings about melting polar Ice caps turned out to be bald face lies. Did you leftist loons actually believe nobody would figure out your greenhouse "end of the world" scenario is a complete fraud.
Robert Byngham at 10:56AM on Dec 11th 2007
2. Al Jazeera? MSNBC? Time? And you want people to take this agenda-based, media-fed, junk-science frenzy seriously? It's hard to keep a straight face when the Prince of Enviro-Panic is none other than Al Gore....AL GORE!!! What a joke.
BirdmanJones at 12:09PM on Dec 11th 2007
3. Mr. Byngham,
Try looking up satelite images from winter during the 1970's versus current satelite images of the polar ice caps... notice the large size differential. I'd assume this would be fairly obvious to you but currently the ice caps are by far smaller. I don't think it take a whole ton of thought to figure out that they are melting... duh
Oh, and putting mandatory fuel efficiency guidelines on cars isn't such a bad idea... god knows that Toyota and Honda are crankin' out some fuel efficient cars and... suprise they are selling a lot better than GM and Ford cars.. maybe making some better cars would help them out
Matt at 12:39PM on Dec 11th 2007
4. Wake up Americans. This is an attempt to tax you for the air that you breathe. Just check out the latest from a Global Warming Believer Elitist in Australia:
[Barry Walters, professor of obstetric medicine at the University of Western Australia calculated that a birth levy of around $5,000 dollars Australian would cover the cost of purchasing the land needed and planting the trees required to offset one lifetime's worth of CO2 and an additional annual tax of $600-$1,000 dollars Australian for Forrest Maintenance.]
Paul Sparcello at 12:46PM on Dec 11th 2007
5. Hey, Jeff, on the heels of Gore recieving his Nobel Sham Award let's discuss the fact that Gore's hysterical rantings about melting polar Ice caps turned out to be bald face lies. Did you leftist loons actually believe nobody would figure out your greenhouse "end of the world" scenario is a complete fraud.
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Talk about your hysterical ranting. Whoever you are, you're gonna wind up serving somebody because you'll fall for anything.
If you weren't as anxious as you are about being wrong, there'd be no need for the hysterics. You'd have an argument instead.
When responsible scientists virtually all come down on the side of something that's been bothering conscientious and informed people for forty years, and the only opposition is linked to corporations for business purposes, the argument is over.
When all you have left is ad hominem attacks that's the sign you've exhausted your options.
As always you have two choices: long term responsibility or short term profit.
Conservatism/libertarianism demands the practitioner live in the moment and disregard the past or potential future issues arising from positions that impede profit so there's no question how they'll play their hand.
Clif Kuplen at 1:18PM on Dec 11th 2007
6. Cliff,
These the same "conscientious and informed" people that thought the world was headed for the next ice age 30 years ago?
Your statement claiming "responsible scientists vitually all come down on the side"... Along with your equally puerile statement that "only opposition is linked to corporations and business purposes" is absurd. Such discounting of your opposition is a poor reflection on your argument.
The whole basis for your argument of global warming being anthropogenic is still very much up for debate by many scientisits with absolutely no connections to profit or business.
Michael at 1:52PM on Dec 11th 2007
7. Mr. Hoard,
Maybe if even just a few of the original signers (outside of the the old Soviet Block countries) of Kyoto actually net their reduction goals (Canada included), their "lecturing" of the U.S. would hold a bit more weight.
Junk science combined with political consensus pressure does not make for a good treaty.
Michael at 2:02PM on Dec 11th 2007
8. My favorite scientist's name is Paul Robert
"Birdman" Michaels.
BOB JOHNSON at 3:51PM on Dec 11th 2007
9. Uh, good one Bob... Take a little initiative and you'll find a significant number of credible members of the scientific community have come forward on the myths of global warming. Start at www.google.com and enter global warming myth.
BirdmanJones at 4:32PM on Dec 11th 2007
10. Leave it to the "conservatives" to come down squarely on the side of pollution.
Captain Negative at 4:57PM on Dec 11th 2007
11. Polar Ice is Melting Robert.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4290340.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4228411.stm
Jeff at 4:59PM on Dec 11th 2007
12. Polar ice is melting Robert.
Now in video form.
http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=aa9ac8c8b71dbc3e2c455b7e6d51020c29c0cd8e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hgvNO_WT9o
Jeff at 5:00PM on Dec 11th 2007
13. Birdman,
I just looked at some "myth" sites,now I
suggest you go to news.nationalgeographic.com/news
BOB JOHNSON at 6:02PM on Dec 11th 2007
14. John McCain was asked whether he believed that
global warming was an issue.
His answer was yes,and went on to say that if
we develop green technologies and global warming
was not happening,that our children would benefit
from a less polluted environment.
BOB JOHNSON at 6:46PM on Dec 11th 2007
15. Personally, I think Al Gore is a Saint. He totally deserves whatever accolades he receives. Also, I think whoever is doing the most polluting should be doing the paying - and, that is the USA, although China is running a close second, and they should also be made to pay. We need to spend our time and money developing green technology to improve our future, save the earth for our kids, and make us less dependent on foreign oil We can't keep running around with our heads stuck in the Arabian or Iraqi sand, pretending this is not going on! Whatever has the most carbon, whether it is corn or kudzu, let's get going on developing technology to use that for energy! It's going to be a cold, dark world for our grandkids...
Sarah at 1:14AM on Dec 12th 2007