With the exception of classified information, the Bush Administration has failed to prove that Saddam Hussein poses a clear and present danger to the United States. Such lack of evidence, writes Grist Magazine?s Bill McKibben, is the reason that 70 percent of Europeans oppose the invasion of Iraq. What's remarkable, McKibben notes, is not the overwhelming European consensus, but the fact that it's based on ?an uninformed judgement,? resulting from a lack of ?necessary data.? Why won?t Europe give Washington the benefit of the doubt? McKibben believes it?s a result of President Bush?s environmental politics.

If Saddam Hussein is this year?s problem, then global warming is the problem of the century McKibben warns. This clear and present danger has been overwhelmingly corroborated. The proof comes not in the form of top secret intelligence, but ten years of hard, scientific data collected and analyzed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The results conclude that global warming is an imminent threat?both to America and the world. Still, George Bush not only refuses to address the issue, says McKibben, he also refutes it as if it were ?a well-honed dagger aimed at the heart of the U.S. economy.?

The Kyoto Protocol is a single but significant battle in the war on global warming ?a fight that America refuses to join, even though 110 countries have already enlisted. For the treaty to take effect, its participants must produce at least 55 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions. To date, the countries that have ratified Kyoto account for 43.9 percent of the world?s pollution. If the U.S. were to ratify, the victory would be a win for the entire planet. Best of all, Americans wouldn?t have to sacrifice their lives?only their lifestyles.
?Erin Ferdinand

Go there>>http://www.gristmagazine.com/soapbox/mckibben031303.asp

Related Links:

• http://unfccc.int/resource/kpthermo.html
• http://unfccc.int/resource/kpstats.pdf