Aby The Liberal

Dmitri June 11th, 2007

There have been debates and then there have been statistics, often the issue getting lost in this maze of debates and statistics. How much warming of the earth is acceptable? Two degrees or one? How much funds are needed to curb global warming? $ 10 billions or $ 1 trillion? There had been an uncountable number of meetings, discussions, summits of world leaders where the main focus on global warming is the economical implications of its reduction measures rather than human lives.

Protests in Germany against climate changes caused by Global Warming

The last week’s Group of Eight developed nations (G8) summit at Heiligendamm in Germany had the issue of Global Warming brought to the forefront with the opponents demanding that it is time to cut down emissions by at least 80% and save the world from a sure death and destruction. The G8 nations are still considering the costs of such a measure to save the world. Most of the money to cut down the emissions would have to come from the countries like France, USA, Japan, UK and Germany which is why these countries are dragging their feet on the issue and lagging behind times. Their claims is that there is no urgency and not enough money to tackle this problem. Let us see how far it is true.

There is ample scientific evidence to show that if the rise of global temperatures is not checked and if greenhouse gases aren’t reduced by 2020, there would be disastrous consequences - wars, floods, famines and deaths. About 154,000 people are dying every year at present, from the effects of global warming. It seems the first world has money for everything it wants but not to save the world from destruction, which first of all is caused by their activities more than anything else. The money contributed by the rich nations is only an exponential fraction of the money spent by these countries on wars. Countries like USA never fall short of money when it comes to guns, tanks, missiles, fighters, nuclear bombs and other killing machines which they display and use all over the world and take pride in the deaths and destruction they cause.

The United States pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol refusing to cut down greenhouse emissions. It is the country which is responsible for 80% of the world military spending, of which 50% is spent by US alone. The US spends $6 billion every month in Iraq, the country which it devastated back to stone age. $400 billion has been spent so far in Iraq a fraction of which could have removed diseases like Malaria and TB from this Earth. When it comes to its own interests like wars and dubious researches, US always finds money. Money is in abudance to research on the benefits of eating chocolates, playing computer games, drinking coffee and bottled water. They have also spend huge amount of money to show that smoking is not injurious to health but there is no money to make the world safe for living with clean water and air.

George Bush in an attempt to wiggle out of facts came with a battery of ‘experts’ all from America (and diehard Republicans) to make the claims that global warming is nothing but a hype. Bizarre explanations had been given to prove that the industrialisation of the developed country has nothing to do with warming of the earth’s atmosphere. They were blaming the cows and rice fields in countries like India, China and Latin American nations for causing global warming. Despite the overwhelming scientific evidence that human activity in the rich world accounts for most of the warming of the earth, Mr. Bush is still unconvinced. Perhaps because of the fact that his country pumps more than 25% greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It does not matter to Mr. Bush if the world faces a destruction, if people are sick or dying due to the effects of global warming. Because for him and his supporters, human lives outside of America are just statistics…

More About Global Warming

• Ecobridge - Global Warming: The Present Danger
• The Independant, London - The Cruelties of Global Warming
• Infoplease - US Greenhouse Gas Emissions

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• Internationalism , World Politics
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