The American Thinker magazine has published some interesting statistics on global warming and the Kyoto protocol. Turns out 75% of the nations that signed Kyoto grew their emissions faster than the US.

• Emissions worldwide increased 18.0%.
• Emissions from countries that signed the treaty increased 21.1%.
• Emissions from non-signers increased 10.0%.
• Emissions from the U.S. increased 6.6%.

The article also lists a number of countries whose emissions increased substantially. You may argue the point that the US produces the most emissions. When you look at the absolute numbers, that is true. But there are a few other facts that should be considered when thinking along this line.

* The US is the world's largest producer of goods, thus it will produce more emissions.
* If the US continues to produce more goods with far lower emission increases, then it would stand to reason that others might want to consider how we achieve this positive impact.

This entire scenario keeps coming back to what do Americans or anyone else on the planet want to give up to supposedly decrease CO 2 emissions? For many, air-conditioning is a need, not a want - the US South would not have taken off economically without air-conditioning. Will Americans easily give up the mobility cars provide? What about the ability to produce unprecedented amounts of safe food and clean water for everyone? Returning to practices of the 1900's and earlier can be done but people had shorter life spans, pain killers of today's caliber were unknown, and emergency medical care as it exists today was nonexistent, etc.

There always is another point of view. To restrict the world's poor from attaining a longer life span and the opportunity to improve their standard of living with even the basics of clean water and enough food because some group uses faulty science to support their cause is grossly unjust.

(H/t to Powerline)

Labels: global warming