Kyoto Protocol…BIG MISTAKE

 When poltics and the environment overlap, there is often a lot of friction.  For example, the Kyoto Protocol, which has been trumpeted by many as the solution to a host of problems, but has been denounced by the US government.  Now when you look at the agreement closely, you may begin to see why the United States’s government refused to sign it. 

Before I begin to rant, it is important to know what the Kyoto Protocol is.  It is an agreement between many nations to limit and stabilize the greenhouse emissions that would interfere with our climate. 

175 nations have signed the agreement, and of these, 36 countries are required to lower the greenhouse emissions  by a certain date.  These 36 nations are developed countries in mainly in Europe and North America.  Nations that are underdeveloped or third world are excempt from many of the greenhouse restrictions.  One of these countries is China.  China is basically given a license to do whatever it wants to the environment, while the United States is supposed to sit back and allow it’s competitor to gain a huge advantage.  Why would a country voluntarily economically criple itself? 

While many of the points in the protocol are good and would positively effect the world if they were inacted, it is far to biased to be truly effective.  It needs to include every nation as full participants for it to truly succeed.  While many people say that the United States is selfish for not agreeing to this protocol, just ask yourself, why should the United States voluntarily hand over economic power to China and India? Would this not destroy competition between the countries, giving nations which consistently abuse the environment on a mass scale a license to become supreme on the world stage?  While the United States is by far the largest producer of greenhouse gases at the moment, it is only a matter of time before this title shifts to China because of its extreme development.  While I am all for China’s industrialization, they cannot be allowed to do it in the same manner we did.  By this, I mean that they should not knowingly destroy the Earth. They know better now, which is a key difference between our industrialization and their’s.  We had no idea about the environmental hazards, so why should we allow others to make the same mistake we did? 

Third world countries should be allowed to industrialize; it is after all their right.  But we should aid in their industrialization and not allow them to make the same environmental mistakes we did.  They should not be given the right to destroy the environment; it is absolutely unfair and biased.  We need to create a fair agreement that will adequately include all parties, not just the ones that are already strong. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol

http://unfccc.int/essential_background/convention/items/2627.php

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/climat/kyoto.htm

http://www.geocities.com/k_s_sudeep/climate.jpg

http://www.tamug.edu/labb/images/97%20CO2%20by%20countries%203.gif

What??? Junk science??? Global what???

Junk science is an interesting thing, it is able to penetrate the media like nothing else.  Junk science first of all is a false science that has been manipulated to fulfill a purpose, usually political. 

There has been a lot of talk going around about global warming.  And while I am probably one of the most conservative people you will ever meet, even I am convinced of its existence.  Many politicians from an unnamed party have been denying its existence, citing articles from scientists who also deny its existence.  People have been rallying against this however, starting protests, and even asking for some head officials to resign.  The fact is, the scientists who have been denying global warming’s existence are in fact practicing Junk science.  They are allowing politics to sway their scientific duty to publish the truth.

Now why I do believe somethings are sometimes exaggerated by the media because they do not understand the science behind global warming, and will sometimes make it sound worse than it is, I do believe that Junk science turns people away from the solution.  Members of the opposite party previously mentioned in my opinion will often use their own form of Junk science to attack the other party.  They will claim things are far worse, and that they are the true saviors of the world.  This is just as inappropriate as the first form.  There are extremes on both sides of the argument, and it is important to look for a happy median.  We cannot let Junk science prevent us from working together to solve a great problem. 

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?

ARTICLE_ID=50450

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

http://dyn.politico.com/members/forums/thread.cfm?catid=1&subcatid=1&threadid=162424

Water and air problems?

We are all rather familiar with the constant political crisis in Israel and the Palestinian territories, but there is another problem that is not often spoken of, and that is the environmental problems in this area. 

The main problem in this area is the water crisis.  The Middle-east is a naturally dry area, and in recent years a severe drought has caused the problem to worsen.  To add to this, a population boom in the region has led to a severe stress on the water supply. 

To add to water shortages, the available water is often very polluted due to chemical industries.  This problem is so bad that Israeli rivers are actually considered more polluted than most American and European rivers.  Israel has taken major steps to fix this problem and has banned the dumping of industrial wastes into rivers.  Hopefully, this will improve the water quality in most areas. 

The air quality in areas like Jerusalem is also suffering because of a sharp increase in car ownership all throughout the region.  This problem is being experienced throughout the world however, and can only be fixed by reducing the pollution output of each car.  Other areas that are experiencing this problem are China, India, and even the United States.  The problem has gotten so bad in Jerusalem however that the city is now being compared to Mexico City, which is one of the most polluted cities in the world. 

No matter what the political situation is in Israel-Palestine, they both share the same environment, and they need to start preserving it together.  This does not seem to be a major possiblity in the future however.  The two sides are drifting apart faster than ever.  The Israelis have recently began the construction of a wall to seperate the Palestinians and Israelis and reduce the terrorist threat.  This political division will only add further stress to the environmental situation. 

http://www.jewishveg.com/schwartz/envirois.html

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/scarcity.html