At least to a degree, the Bush administration appears to be part of the growing consensus in this country about global warming.
The administration has put out a report that warns temperatures in the United States could rise faster than previously anticipated, perhaps by five degrees or more in this century. Although the report isn’t definitive about the causes of global warming, the study is clear that the effects are real.
There is no room left for saying, "Oh, look ,it snowed in Texas! Global warming? Ha-ha."
For the United States, climate changes can bring a variety of serious ills, including water problems, the spread of some diseases and more frequent storms. There would be some benefits as well, including better growing seasons for some crops.
The president reacted to the report in a somewhat confusing manner, re-stating his opposition to the Kyoto Treaty to reduce greenhouse gases and seemingly dismissing the work as a product of the bureaucracy. At least, though, he didn’t block the frank report.
That’s an opening toward the kind of larger public discussion that ought to occur. As Mr. Bush acknowledged during his campaign in 2000, there is good reason to be concerned about the fossil fuels — oil, gas, coal and the like — which put large amounts of carbon dioxide in the air. Whether man or nature is doing more to produce global warming, the build-up of atmospheric greenhouse gases raises serious climatic and environmental questions.
There’s nothing wrong with the president’s skepticism about the Kyoto pact. With its free pass for greenhouse emissions in some developing countries, the Kyoto Treaty is hardly perfect. American leaders, moreover, have to be honest with themselves and the public when substantial costs will be incurred to meet international goals, however worthy.
Skepticism, though, needs to be accompanied by a search for well-considered judgments. It is not enough to short-circuit the decision-making with general inattention accompanied by occasional criticism of the international efforts.
For all the scientific intricacies involved with global warming, the public is fully capable of deciding national policy. As with many environmental matters, in fact, many people don’t care to wait on leadership decisions before acting to protect the earth. That should be a sign to political leaders of all parties of the public’s ability to help make the key decisions about global warming.
Such healthy, democratic decision-making won’t occur in a vacuum. Progress on global warming policies also requires continued engagement from the White House.
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