Three administrations, a lot of politics, no Kyoto and a warmer world.
The science is conclusive and the world is warming. Carbon dioxide is the main cause. But its proliferation was aided and abetted by silence, inaction and a special kind of political expediency and political calculus.
In tonight's "Hot Politics," PBS's Frontline follows the CO2 trail through Washington and history, back to the Bush 41 Presidency (George Herbert Walker Bush, 1988 to 1992), through the Clinton years and up to Bush 43 (George Walker Bush, 2001 to now).
We tend to parse issues such as global warming along party ideological lines -- sometimes unconsciously, sometimes out of habit. But "Hot Politics" shows that CO2, global warming and the Kyoto Protocol were all ignored, dismissed, judged too politically expensive or repudiated by politicians at every point on the political spectrum.
It's not like people weren't trying. Former New Jersey Governor Christie Todd Whitman was appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency by the current President Bush. She backed a cap on carbon emissions. Vice President Dick Cheney didn't.
"I had long conversations with him," Whitman says. "It wasn't a lot of back-and-forth
with him. And he sort of smiles and nods, and you don't really know
where he is on a lot of things."
"Hot Politics" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. As always, check local listings. And if you just can't tear yourself away from hockey or Dancing With The Stars, Frontline's usually pretty good at archiving its programs and keeping them available online.
Jamie Hardy
I saw a bit of this show last night. What I really appreciated was the balance (Hello, David Suzuki Foundation!!), yes the balance shown in the criticism of both political parties.
I'll be the first to admit that right-wing, conservative governments haven't always put environmental issues first. But let's be fair. The so-called left-wing parties of Canada and the U.S. haven't done much better.
Yet it seems environmental groups and the media (especially in Canada) tend to give left-wing parties far more leniancy in their opinions.
It's refreshing to see a documentary with the courage to confront the truth. Although I suspect they'll come under fire from left-wing parties for their "conservative hitjob".
Don Seager
I spent 2 minutes on the internet, and your basic assumption that the cause of global warming is co2 is not supported by the vostok ice core data, in fact co2 concentration is a result of global warming, not a precursor. For Gods sake, you are promoting a world wide recession based on what biased and incentivized lobbyists are telling you. DO YOUR OWN HOMEWORK!
Colin
It is impossible to meet the Kyoto Accord at this point in time without extremly damaging our economy. I belive that Canadians want a more aggressive environmental plan but not to the extent that it would put people out of work and thrust our economy into a possible recession.
Some people argue the Conservatives are using scare tactics, however the negative impact of Kyoto on the economy is widely supported by many experts.
It is my view that the Conservatives are taking a positive step in the reduction of green house gases and at the same time protecting the economy.
Colin
It is impossible to meet the Kyoto Accord at this point in time without extremly damaging our economy. I belive that Canadians want a more aggressive environmental plan but not to the extent that it would put people out of work and thrust our economy into a possible recession.
Some people argue the Conservatives are using scare tactics, however the negative impact of Kyoto on the economy is widely supported by many experts.
It is my view that the Conservatives are taking a positive step in the reduction of green house gases and at the same time protecting the economy.
Jenna
An increasing body of observations gives a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system... There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities
Dave Dowling
Global warming is a fact, proven by verifiable, emperical observations. the ice caps are going, the glaciers are melting, the climate is changing.
40 more feet of water world wide and 20 degree rises in tempature is NOT A RECESSION, IT IS A CATASTROPHE!!
Lora Bruncke
Meeting Kyoto will not hurt us financially. Many European countries are complying and have great economies. They don't run their societies on consumerism. Germany and Denmark are both well off and green. There is a city in Denmark that burns garbage to heat water to heat homes, without polluting. There are many other easy solutions. Work less so we have less will use less energy. Ration air travel. Put more leaves in the air. Go organic. Eat less meat. The list goes on.
Besides, I believe in Al Gore's analogy of globe over gold.
Don: don't believe everything you find on the internet, especially if it only took you two minutes to find it. Most scientists in the world are agreeing, Europe is complying.