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j0n4th4n
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0 posted 2004-06-09 04:55 PM


At the Kyoto summit he said (or someone near him):

"The USA will continue to pollute the world as long as this benefits it."

Or words to that effect.

I am annoyed at his use of "the USA". He should have substituted this for "this government". I mean, it instantly attracts hate towards the USA, and puts the blame on every American's shoulders unjustly.

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Ringo
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1 posted 2004-06-09 06:20 PM


While we're on the subject, I think he should be investigated for the Kennedy assassination as well... He NEVER did account for his whereabouts.

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Balladeer
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2 posted 2004-06-09 08:27 PM


Of course he is responsible!! He's got Kerry and his buddies so hot it's bound to raise the temperature of the Earth at least 10 degrees!

He said - (or someone near him said)

He said this - (or words to that effect)

Is it just me or do I see some discrepancy here???

Brad
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3 posted 2004-06-09 09:59 PM


We are talking about the 1997 Kyoto summit, right?

He was there?

Bush's position on the Kyoto protocols is that it wouldn't do much (if anything) for the environment and would hurt American competitiveness as developing countries were not held to the same standards as developed countries.

As far as I can tell, the Kyoto protocols were more a symbolic gesture than anything else. Bush's rejection was a rejection of international cooperation towards global issues.  


Aenimal
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4 posted 2004-06-09 11:17 PM


Well, in considering that:

A. methane negatively effects the ozone layer

B. a major source of methane is manure

C. Bush and administration have been shovelling it for years now

we can in fact conclude that George Bush is responsible, at least in part, for global warming

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5 posted 2004-06-10 12:01 PM


Raph- You change that from President Bush to politicians in general, and I think we might actually agree on something for the first time!!!

lol

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Midnitesun
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6 posted 2004-06-10 12:15 PM


ROTFL at you Raph and Ringo.
Yep, I think we all learned this in grade school, politics=manure.
Actually, wasn't it Bill who rejected Kyoto?

Marshalzu
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7 posted 2004-06-10 08:45 AM


"heh"...
Aenimal
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8 posted 2004-06-10 01:19 PM


Will do Ringo. There's a gaping hole being formed over the heads of our Liberal government here in Ontario. The alternatives? Ultra conservatives or Ultra socialists..guess who's not voting?
Sudhir Iyer
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9 posted 2004-06-10 02:14 PM


Surely, this one needs clarification... or am I daft? Maybe, I am
-----------
At the Kyoto summit he said (or someone near him):

who said this or who is him in this line


Local Rebel
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10 posted 2004-06-10 07:31 PM


A more apt complaint might be that the Bush administration is attempting to lie to us about global warming as is well stated in the Union of Concerned Scientists http://www.ucsusa.org/ report entitled 'Scientific Integrity in Policymaking - An Investigation into the Bush Administration ’s Misuse of Science'. http://web.mit.edu/hemisphere/events/UCS_Bush-Science_Report.pdf

Excerpts from the executive summary and thread-specific topic;
quote:

A growing number of scientists, policy makers,
and technical specialists both inside and outside
the government allege that the current Bush ad-
ministration has suppressed or distorted the scien-
tific analyses of federal agencies to bring these results
in line with administration policy.In addition,
these experts contend that irregularities in the
appointment of scientifi c advisors and advisory
panels are threatening to upset the legally man-
dated balance of these bodies.
----
To determine the validity of the allegations,
UCS reviewed the public record,
obtained internal government documents,
and conducted interviews with many of the parties
involved (including current and former government
officials).
----
DISTORTING AND SUPPRESSING
CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH
Since taking office, the Bush administration
has consistently sought to undermine the public ’s
understanding of the view held by the vast majority
of climate scientists that human-caused emissions
of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases
are making a discernible contribution to global
warming.

After coming to office, the administration asked
the National Academy of Sciences (NAS)to review
the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) and provide further assess-
ment of what climate science could say about this
issue.2 The NAS panel rendered a strong opinion,
which, in essence, confirmed that of the IPCC. The
American Geophysical Union, the world ’s largest
organization of earth scientists, has also released
a strong statement describing human-caused dis-
ruptions of Earth ’s climate.3 Yet Bush administra-
tion spokespersons continue to contend that the
uncertainties in climate projections and fossil fuel
emissions are too great to warrant mandatory
action to slow emissions.

In May 2002,President Bush expressed dis-
dain for a State Department report  to the United
Nations that pointed to a clear human role in the
accumulation of heat-trapping gases and detailed
the likely negative consequences of climate change;
the president called it “a report put out by the
bureaucracy.”  In September 2002, the adminis-
tration removed a section on climate change from
the Environmental Protection Agency ’s (EPA)
annual air pollution report, even though the
climate issue had been discussed in the report
for the preceding five years.

Then,in one well-documented case,the Bush
administration blatantly tampered with the inte-
grity of scientifi c analysis at a federal agency when,
in June 2003,the White House tried to make
a series of changes to the EPA ’s draft Report on
the Environment.

A front-page article in the New York Times
broke the news that White House offi cials tried
to force the EPA to substantially alter the report ’s
section on climate change.The EPA report,which
referenced the NAS review and other studies,stated
that human activity is contributing significantly
to climate change.

Interviews with current and former EPA staff,
as well as an internal EPA memo reviewed for this
report (see Appendix A) reveal that the White
House Council on Environmental Quality and
the Office of Management and Budget demanded
major amendments including:

The deletion of a temperature record covering
1,000 years in order to, according to the EPA
memo, emphasize “a recent, limited analysis
[which ] supports the administration ’s favored
message.”

The removal of any reference to the NAS
review —requested by the White House itself
—that confirmed human activity is contrib-
uting to climate change.

The insertion of a reference to a discredited
study of temperature records funded in part by
the American Petroleum Institute.

The elimination of the summary statement —
noncontroversial within the science communi-
ty that studies climate change —that “climate
change has global consequences for human
health and the environment.”




This is not just partisan rancor either -- this site http://web.mit.edu/hemisphere/events/bush-science.shtml references the 'high-profile' Republican officials who endorsed the report;

quote:

[An accompanying statement] was signed by more than half a dozen high-profile Republicans, including Lewis Branscomb, director of the National Bureau of Standards under Nixon; Richard Garwin, a member of the Presidential Science Advisory Committee under Nixon; W. K. H. Panofsky, a PSAC member under Eisenhower; and Norman Ramsey, science advisor to NATO under Eisenhower. Russell Train, administrator of the EPA under Nixon and Ford, has also been publicly supportive … 'I don't see it as a partisan issue at all … If it becomes that way, it's because the White House chooses to make it a partisan issue.'



and from http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release.cfm?newsID=381

quote:

“Across a broad range of issues, the administration has undermined the quality of the scientific advisory system and the morale of the government’s outstanding scientific personnel,” said Dr. Kurt Gottfried, emeritus professor of physics at Cornell University and Chairman of the Union of Concerned Scientists. “Whether the issue is lead paint, clean air or climate change, this behavior has serious consequences for all Americans.”

“Science, to quote President Bush's father, the former president, relies on freedom of inquiry and objectivity,” said Russell Train, head of the Environmental Protection Agency under Nixon and Ford, who joined the scientists in calling for action. “But this administration has obstructed that freedom and distorted that objectivity in ways that were unheard of in any previous administration.”



LoveBug
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11 posted 2004-06-10 08:11 PM


Hasn't this global warning stuff been floating around for years? It's sort of unfair to put it all on our most recent president, don't you think?

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Aenimal
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12 posted 2004-06-10 09:02 PM


is it fair? it's politics lol
Denise
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13 posted 2004-06-10 11:10 PM


There are those who dispute the gravity of and/or the authenticity of the global warming issue, as well as those who dispute the effectiveness of the proposed corrective measures, and/or see them as overkill, like open-heart surgery for heartburn, that can do more harm than good, and some see them as merely a way of controlling the economies of the more prosperous nations.

I'm personally not well versed on the issue and the scientific studies make my head spin. How many actual degrees over a thousand year period are we talking about? To my understanding it is miniscule. What are the fears for planet Earth from a miniscule rise in average temperature over a thousand year period? What are the consequences to us in the here and now and what are the projected consequences to future inhabitants a thousand years or two or more thousands of years from now? Is there proof that the proposed corrective measures would actually help stop or reverse global warming, or is it just conjecture at this point? And if it is conjecture, shouldn't more research be done before we expect leaders to make major decisions that will impact trade and economic independence?

And would global chilling be preferable?
  

Midnitesun
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14 posted 2004-06-11 12:04 PM


Thanks, Reb
Actually, we are already well past the turn-around-point, no matter what we do.
In other words, if you want to see the glaciers? go now.

Not A Poet
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15 posted 2004-06-11 12:08 PM


Someone needs to stop those cows from eating grass so they won't fart so much.

Ringo
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16 posted 2004-06-11 01:44 AM


I apologize for not having the specific study in front of me, however I seem to remember seeing a reprot that the weather was warmer in the medieval times than it is now....
and that volcanoes do more damage than the human populace...
explain that in the context of "the sky is falling"?

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hush
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17 posted 2004-06-11 08:07 PM


I don't have to be a scientist to infer that the clouds of smog I've seen surrounding cities like Detroit and Cleveland certainly don't appear to be natural or healthy... I don't necessarily believe the doomsday reports that claim coastal cities will be drowing in ten or twenty years... but let's see here... what does car exhaust do to us when it is expelled into a closed area, like a garage... oh, right... it kills us. Hmm... that's right, there's no way it could possibly be harming our environment to spew out such pollutatns, constantly. It's just plain common sense to figure that out, in my opinion.

Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't have cars or anything (I mean, I certainly shouldn't drive the V-8 Thunderbird I drive, and on my next car, I'll probably bite the bullet and curb that need for speed by buying something a little more gas efficient)... but, anyway, I do believe it's important to try to reduce the emissions our cars cause, and  I have read somewhere that the Bush administration is the first in quite some time to not tighten pollution standards... maybe that's true, maybe it's hearsay.

Either way, I don't think he was around when we first started buring coal for heat so the whole phenomenon probably isn't just his fault...

Brad
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18 posted 2004-06-12 02:08 AM


http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18910


quote:
More recently (after Whitman fled the agency, declaring, like departing CIA Director George Tenet, that she needed to "spend more time with my family"), the White House ordered the EPA to pretend that poisonous mercury is not a toxic pollutant – even while the Food and Drug Administration was warning pregnant women of the risks associated with eating mercury-contaminated fish. A proposed EPA rule was politically doctored by the White House to include language supplied by lawyers from coal-fired power companies.


These ham-fisted White House maneuvers all have one thing in common: they all distort administration policies to favor big coal and coal-burning electric companies – the source of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to the Republican Party and to the Bush-Cheney re-election effort in particular.


Frank O'Donnell



Brad
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19 posted 2004-06-12 04:11 AM


http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=5397654&src=rss/ElectionCoverage§ion=news

quote:
The State Department said on Thursday its report that the number of international "terrorist" attacks fell last year was wrong and in fact had risen sharply.

The Department also said the number of resulting deaths was expected to be higher for 2003 than the 307 initially reported, but officials said it may not exceed 2002's 725 fatalities.

The admissions dented the claim by President Bush's administration that Washington is winning the "war on terrorism," an argument critical to his reelection strategy.


This is unrelated to environmental issues, but combined with LR's information, the pattern speaks for itself. Does it really matter if it's incompetence or playing with the numbers?

Juju
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20 posted 2004-06-12 02:48 PM


Well I don't meen to be smart....... but why would bush try to cover something that has been common knowladge since I was  like in third grade. Was bush responcable for the ice age? I bet you want to know why I asked that? well our planet constantly goes through weather changes. On a second note our country is one of the greatest consumers of goods. Just maybe it is the people who live in the country, not the leader. You know what else when grut comes to grut poeple wont give up there cars for the train or bus. They would rather be in there own car then "Save the envirement". Personally the greatest threat to global warming is the cutting of the rainforrest. Unfortunetly we can't do anything about that(Its kinda in a different country). So what I am trying to get at is it is inane to put blame one one man. Sorry rebel for disagreeing, but I don't see why bush would cover up something that is common knowladge. There are programs, which (some) are gov. sponsered that send poeple to areas like brazil, to teach them about the rainforrest and bring in bee farming and other occupations in which they don't have to cut down rainforrest. If you want to stop global warming donate money to one of those groups. ....... Just a thought, as for Bush.  I am sure Russia, germany, canada, wouldn't want the world to know there emissions/ how much they could improve. Other contries reawlly pick on us, I am sure bush said that when he was mad. At them......

-Now I know why guys age so bad when they become president......
-Don't want to be president.

Juju

Denise
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21 posted 2004-06-13 09:55 AM


I'll give an ear to Al Gore and Robert Redford when these hypocritical, gas guzzling, jet-setting, limousine riding 'environmentalists' start living what they preach. Until then, I'm keeping my car.

Brad, you did know that the State Department is flamingly anti-Bush, right?

Juju
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22 posted 2004-06-14 11:18 PM


No kidding.
Toerag
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23 posted 2004-06-16 05:25 PM


Yea, Bush had to shovel a hell of alot of manure just to get thru the doors at the White House....The Clinton's and Gore left enough for years of reconstruction and manure removing...Yanno what else?...I'll bet he knows something about where Jimmy Hoffa is....he probably supplied minors to Michael Jackson, and if the truth were to be known...he probably had something to do with Amelia Earhart's disappearance too.....I heard from a very reliable Democrat that he may have known about the Jap's plan to bomb Pearl Harbor months before it happened.....I think Ted Kennedy should spend a few million dollars to investigate these things....(I read recently that George W. Bush Sr. may have been the real driver of that Chappaquidic car incident)....John Kerry's Psychic said so..there has to be some merit to this......
Ron
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24 posted 2004-06-16 06:16 PM


Hoffa? Pearl Harbor? Toe, I think that's the first time I've ever heard anyone accuse Bush of knowing something.
Midnitesun
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25 posted 2004-06-16 07:55 PM


Well, I can't say as I would pin the temperature global warming on him, but...
the global HEAT on Americans? I think he has a great deal to do with that. But of course, Bush is only one of many who have alienated billions of other earthlings.

Titia Geertman
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26 posted 2004-06-16 08:51 PM


Can we blame him for anything else that's going wrong too???Please??? It would be very convenient you know. That way nobody will be obliged to take any responsability to whatever action they take. WOW.

Titia

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Toerag
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Ala bam a
27 posted 2004-06-17 07:38 AM


You're right Ron, only you and Kerry and Hillary know everything....(Not her hubby Bill...he was actually Lassie in a Clinton suit and did what Hillary ordered until Monica), hey?..she may know more than all of us?
Sudhir Iyer
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28 posted 2004-06-17 08:24 AM


"shut-up mode" sudhir

[This message has been edited by Sudhir Iyer (06-17-2004 10:12 AM).]

jbouder
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29 posted 2004-06-17 08:33 AM


Midnitesun:

Fundamentalist Muslim ire toward America actually dates back to American support for establishing a Jewish state in Palestine.  Read the 9/11 Commission Preliminary Report on the attacks and you can read clearly that the World Trade Center was targeted for not only its economic significance, but also for the Fundamentalist perception of the economic and media influence Jewish Americans have on the economy and information in the West.

Pointing fingers gets us nowhere.  One could just as easily say that Clinton's attempted cruise missile assassination of Bin Laden increased Osama's determination to strike back.  But I think this is wrong also.

It may take ten years or more to see the fruits (fresh or rotten) of Bush's strong stance toward terrorism - right now, I think judgment is premature.

Jim

Ron
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30 posted 2004-06-17 11:43 AM


Jim, I would agree that conclusions are premature, but I would hope that judgments can be formed before November's election. We don't have the luxury of tasting the fruit before deciding whether more fields should be planted.
jbouder
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31 posted 2004-06-17 01:44 PM


Ron:

quote:
Jim, I would agree that conclusions are premature, but I would hope that judgments can be formed before November's election.


I don't think we will be able to with great accuracy.  I think we're better served by looking to issues that are easier to assess (e.g., economy, education, etc.).  Those, at least, are easier to judge on the merits.

Jim

Ron
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32 posted 2004-06-17 05:39 PM


Some things can be judged in isolation, Jim, but not many. Most issues, after all, carry both a benefit to someone and a cost to someone else. Looking at one while ignoring the other is often selfish and always unwise. As just one example, while I'm sure no one would ever try to justify war by its positive effects on an economy, it would be dangerous to blindly accept those effects with no regard to cost. The war touches too many threads to be easily ignored.

Even lacking great accuracy, I think we have to do the best we can to discern truth. As with every major choice we make in life, uncertainty can't be an excuse for indecision.

Juju
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33 posted 2004-06-22 12:10 PM


This is really funny.

Juju

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