Jan
23
Closing time
Written by Willy Ritch | Filed Under Uncategorized |
[photopress:sad_bush2.jpg,full,pp_image]It’s pretty amazing, really, how quickly we’ve passed the tipping point on global warming. There are a few climate change skeptics left–Rush Limbaugh and Sen. James Inhofe, for example–but for the most part business, government and the public have seen one too many pictures of an ice shelf collapse to doubt that it’s for real.
(The influential Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is set to release it’s newest report on global warming in about a week, and it’s conservative forecast is that we’re really screwed.)
Yesterday a coalition of businesses and NGOs gathered in Washington to say that the federal government must immediately pass a cap on the amount of greenhouse gas being produced by industry. And these corporations are not the Lands Ends and Googles of the world–they are big, old economy industrial powehouses: GE, Alcoa and DuPont to name a few.
These companies know that a cap on carbon emissions is coming, and they want to make sure it’s one they can live with. Tired of the foot dragging of the Bush Administration and Republican Congress on global warming, a number of states have decided to take matters into their own hands. The specter of a hodge-podge of state regulations is a lot less appealing to Big Business than a single, national standard. They also loathe uncertainty–manufacturers want to know what their energy costs are going to be and utilities want to know what technologies they should invest in.
The coalition—the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP)—is urging Congress to pass a “cap and trade” system. Seen as the best approach by many environmental experts, cap and trade sets a maximum for greenhouse gas productions. If you exceed that limit you have to buy credits from someone who is below the limit. The system leads to the most cost-effective reductions in greenhouse gases. It’s the free market and environmentalism all rolled into one neat package.
There aren’t too many people who have to be convinced that immediate, serious action on reducing greenhouse gases is needed. Not too many, but a few. And one of the few is our Oilman in Chief. Sebastian Mallaby writes in the Washington Post that the timing of USCAP’s Washington conference, on the eve of the State of the Union, reveals just how irrelvent President Bush has really become:
The chief executives are in Washington today because they aren’t even trying to influence the White House. As they planned their visit over the past weeks, they were barely in touch with the Bush team because they assumed Bush to be irrelevant. Just a few days ago, the planners of the visit realized that they were inadvertently trampling on the State of the Union. But by then it was too late. Would 10 chief executives rearrange their schedules to accommodate a lame-duck president? Forget it.
Sure, the president will say something about climate change in his speech tonight. But his record isn’t very good on following through on meaningful policies. So far he’s supported initiatives on things like hydrogen and nuclear power in other countries–initatives so far away in time or distance that they pose little threat to his buddies in the oil and gas bidness.
This is only the latest example of how President Bush is going it alone–really alone–on so many significant issues. And what some people used to see as a sign of conviction and political courage now seems like a sign that he’s really gone right around the bend. The president is
looking increasing like the last guy at the bar at closing time who is talking in a little-bit-too-loud voice and appearing like he may have to be dragged out kicking and screaming.
Sidney Blumenthal writes in Salon today that even Nixon, when he was getting drunk and praying with Henry Kissenger in the Oval Office, at least still cared what the public thought. But not this president.
He has abandoned caring what the country thinks, except in his imagined end of the story, where he is the victor. For now, he will escalate as he pleases, blessed by Cheney.
President Bush’s defenders (are there any left?) would argue it’s a sign of virtue not to pay attention to public opinion polls. But as a member of the public who’s opinion is being polled, I see it as a sign of arrogance. The president’s contemptuous disregard for our sentiments on Iraq, the environment, health care and social issues comes across as spoiled and petulant.
It’s closing time, Mr. President. Can we call you a cab?
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[...] Just as we predicted here yesterday, President Bush gave a shout out to global warming yesterday. And just as we feared, it may not amount to much. [...]
[...] Just as we predicted here yesterday, President Bush gave a shout-out to global warming in his State of the Union. And just as we feared, it may not amount to much. [...]