January 23 2008
The Bush Administration has stymied action on global warming at home and abroad, questioning and occasionally suppressing compelling scientific evidence that the earth is heating up and man-made pollution is a major reason why.
Global warming has no shortage of causes — coal-burning power plants, carbon-spewing automobiles — but many European and Asian environmentalists seem to blame one factor above all others: U.S. President George W. Bush. As the world's top carbon emitter and the only major developed country to refuse to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, America is seen as hastening global warming while foiling attempts to slow it down. At December's U.N. climate-change summit in Bali, the frustration toward American intransigence on global warming was palpable. When U.S. negotiators stood in the way of agreement during the summit's final day, the anger boiled over, with delegates, observers from environmental groups and even members of the international press booing the American team. The U.S. eventually dropped its opposition to the Bali road map, but that did little to allay suspicion that Washington would remain a roadblock in efforts to combat the world's most pressing environmental crisis. More >>>