Tom Toles, the Washington Post editorial page political cartoonist, is almost certainly the top of the ranks when it comes to political cartoons on the critical issue of Global Warming. His commentaries on Bush Administration policies when it comes to the most critical issue of the century are highly accurate … and damning.
Consider his cartoon for today, 17 April 2008, the day after George W Bush’s (how can I make the) Climate Change speech. The White House, with “US Climate Policy” is floating at sea, headed toward “polar ice”. When it comes to this threat, however, “Our intermediate plan is that it will be gone before we hit it.”
Sadly, newspapers are reporting on George W Bush’s monstrocity of a speech on Climate Change, making a mockery of the concept of action related to Glboal Warming. Guess that they have to, although the nation will be far better served when this man no longer occupies the Oval Office. Let us take a few moments to look at Washington Post coverage, in Bush Seeks Voluntary Curb On Greenhouse Gas Emissions. In short, some reasonable reporting with some serious shortfalls.
To say that the Israeli-Palestinian, Israeli-Arab conflict has been an intractable element of international politics is an understatement along the lines of saying that George the W’s Administration hasn’t been weak on Global Warming. It is hard to state these sad truths wrongly enough.
Sadly, the United States’ ability to be a positive player in seeking to achieve a more positive set of relationships within the Middle East has been distorted through a defining of “pro-Israeli” too often in a way that represents only a very narrow spectrum of Israeli opinion and in a way that too often is likely to be undercutting long-term Israeli & US interests. Just formed/announced, J-Street seeks to change this equation.
“For too long, the loudest ‘pro-Israel’ voices in this country have been those on the far-right,” says Jeremy Ben Ami, who today announced the launch of J Street—the first PAC with a corresponding lobby to give pro-peace, pro-Israel Americans a voice in American politics and in the policy process.
Now, rather than filling one in on the policy agenda items and getting into the “I-P” conflict in some detail, let us talk about an arena that is not explicitly one of the ten “policy issues” but perhaps should be: how Energy Smart concepts could fit into fostering a more secure and more peaceful Middle East: for Israelis, Palestinians, other Arabs, and America(ns). [Read more →]
April 15th, 2008 · Comments Off on A Bush in a Frosty Hell?
Tomorrow, according to the AP, George Bush is going to give a speech in the Rose Garden “on climate change to lay out the way he thinks the U.S. can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
The rumor is out. W is going to push for Global Warming legislation. According to that font of journalistic wisdom, The Washington Times,
President Bush is poised to change course and announce as early as this week that he wants Congress to pass a bill to combat global warming, and will lay out principles for what that should include.
Before we start planning the Devil’s ice-skating rink and before Al Gore begans tap dancing on the graves of Global Warming denial, there is that nasty little issue of details.
Acceptance of and understanding of Global Warming is an overwhelming action. Truly understanding what we (all of the US and all of us) face commands decisions about how one will interact with the globe from that moment on. Now, for better or worse, there are many (often illegitimate) reasons for skepticism about Global Warming. One of these is, quite clearly, an emotional desire to avoid having to face those decisions in the face. But, there is a path toward that decision point. For quite good reasons, that path is very closed to that outlined by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross in Death and Denying for dealing with life’s tragedies.
The news isn’t good. There is discussion of a US recession and its impacts globally when the appropriate analogy might be depression (financial and otherwise). Energy prices (partially driven by Peak Oil and other Peaking elements) are continuing their upwards path that might only be stunted by that global recession. Food prices are escalating, across the board, while supplies are falling. The financial meltdowns are freezing credit markets. The economic situation, for many countries and communities and businesses and individuals, is driving people toward an ever greater focus on the immediate challenges rather than longer-term horizons. And, then there is that pesky little thing: Global Warming.
To navigate a course through the Perfect Storm of Peak Oil and Global Warming will require significant investment. Investment in revamped and new infrastructure (energy efficiency and renewable energy). Investment in research. Investment … And, while that investment offers tremendous opportunity for “gain” (energy savings, profit from renewable energy, societal benefits through reduced pollution, avoided costs due to Global Warming), the financial crunch and other pressures make it that much harder to set aside the resources for that capital investment.
There is an adage on energy efficiency infrastructure investments:
Those who can afford energy efficiency can afford to be wasteful on energy.
Those who can’t afford the costs of being wasteful on energy can’t afford the costs to become energy efficient.
certainly the top of the ranks when it comes to political cartoons on the critical issue of Global Warming. His commentaries on Bush Administration policies when it comes to the most critical issue of the century are highly accurate … and damning.
television screens.
legislation. According to that font of journalistic wisdom, 
Acceptance of and understanding of Global Warming is an overwhelming action. Truly understanding what we (all of the US and all of us) face commands decisions about how one will interact with the globe from that moment on. Now, for better or worse, there are many (often illegitimate)