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Just Kidding. Don’t worry folks, the temperature in hell is still well above freezing. He just wants some goals. But he did acknowledge in a speech given at a gathering of fifteen nations at the end of last week that climate change is real and that humans are contributing. Which is a step in the right direction but he also refused to even suggest that the U.S., the largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, would sign any binding international agreement on what to do about it. This after skipping a U.N. meeting of world leaders earlier last week that discussed the very same topic.

You could say that Groovy Green is a bit late in covering this story and you’d be right.  Sorry.  A little busy around here.  But in the time that has elapsed I’ve done some thinking about the U.N. meeting on climate change and President Bush’s subsequent meeting on the very same topic.  A question popped up.  Why didn’t President Bush just attend the earlier international meeting on climate change?  Why did he have to hold his very own meeting?  I think the answer is that U.S. corporations, the real power behind the U.S. government, still view a meaningful response to climate change as a bad thing for their bottom line.  For them it’s about avoiding change in favor of business as usual.  I think this attitude is unfortunate for two reasons.  First it shows that in general, American corporations are more interested in money than in the fate of the human race and in fact the fate of all God’s creation.  Secondly it is incredibly insulting to the ingenuity of the American people.  Call me cynical but having grown up mostly in the 80’s and 90′, I expect businesses to put money ahead of people.  And forget about them saving the spotted owl.  But when I hear the business community and the government whine about how cutting carbon will kill the economy I scratch my head and think, who are these lazy, unintelligent bums?  Personally when I encounter a problem I find a solution.  It is not always easy.  It is not always the solution I most desire.  But all this ‘Can’t Do’ attitude from our leaders is embarrassing IMHO.

Nonetheless, President Bush didn’t attend the larger international meeting on climate change.  He held his own meeting and told the world basically that the U.S. won’t really do anything about climate change.  The net result?  The rest of the world recognized at the end of last week that the U.S. is not going to be a leader on the issue of climate change.  They’ve had a sneak suspicion that this would be the case but President Bush made it clear.  Rather than moving us into a position of leadership on this issue, the president’s tea party at the end of last week showed the world what we’re made of concerning the issue of climate change.  As a nation the answer is, not very much.

Climate change caused by human induced global warming is a real threat and even in America, where corporations have and are spending billions of dollars to convince Americans otherwise, the problem is becoming obvious.  Something will have to be done about it.  And as this is a global problem it will require a global solution.  That solution will be complicated and require compromises.  It could entail some very big changes in the way we live and in the way we do business.  I would expect the American corporate community to want a seat at the table as these decisions are made.  Instead our president is doing the opposite; running away from the issue or at best trying to handle it unilaterally.

In December the United Nations Climate Change Conference will meet in Bali.  There is growing support for a real, tangible breakthrough on this issue internationally.  It’s time for this country and its leaders, both in government and in business, to stop dicking around and show up at the international table ready for action.  The American people want to protect our future and the future of our children.  Stop treating us like mindless consumers who are completely unwilling to change and unable to formulate strategies that will ensure our true security.  Leaders of America, DO YOUR JOB.
“Change is necessary and because it is necessary it is possible.” -Tom Athanasiou