It appears that George Bush’s rhetoric on global warming has changed. He seems willing to admit that global warming is real and that the primary cause of it is human activity – even citing the conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at a summit of world leaders in Washington last week.
Gee, sorry about that Senator Inhoffe. It must be getting really lonely when George Bush starts talking about climate change with a straight face.
But is Bush serious? Does he really expect us to believe he’s suddenly changed his mind all the sudden about global warming?
Isn’t changing his mind the very thing Bush prides himself in never doing? After all, once Bush’s mind is made up about something, he’s right. That’s it, end of discussion.
I am not the only one skeptical that Bush’s actions will ever match his words. Despite the face he presented in his speech at the summit, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on September 25th that White House e-mails show a concerted effort from Bush to wreck California’s limits on greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, the first such legislation in the United States. It is best to watch what George Bush does rather than listen to what he says – he is no different than the rest of us on that score.
My problem is that George Bush has lost his credibility with me, especially (but certainly not only) on environmental issues, and his meddling in state politics doesn’t help instill confidence.
Nonetheless, we’ll just have to take whatever we can get with Bush. As German Environmental Minister Sigmar Gabriel said of Bush’s performance last week, “This was a great step for the Americans and a small step for mankind. In substance, we are still far apart.”
And without substance, it’s all just a bunch of words.
Sources and Further Reading:
Spartan Daily
San Francisco Chronicle
theStar.com
Financial Times
