Over 15,000 bureaucrats, politicians, officials, and assorted do-gooders from 187 nations descended on the tropical island of Bali last week for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Their goal? To make a last ditch effort to save the world from the ravages of global warming. The aim is to require industrial nations to limit their emission of C02 to 25–40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. This is necessary, they proclaim, in order to head off rising oceans, drought, famine, dying species, and, well, just plain catastrophe.
These noble shepherds of the earth are willing to have others make any sacrifice necessary to achieve their laudable goal. They are even willing to make some sacrifices themselves. Starting with the 100,000 tons of CO2 emissions caused by all the private jets used to ferry them to the conference. Not to worry …
Indonesia plans to plant seventy-nine million trees to ‘offset’ the entire conference’s emissions. The European Union has assured us that they will be buying carbon credits on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. And the UK? Well, their forty-person team will have their emissions neutralized through a central government fund. Whew …
It looks like this conference is being held just in the nick of time. Reports on the damage man is doing to the environment have been making headlines all week. AP environmental writer Michael Casey describes the havoc global warming is wreaking on nature: “More than 3,000 flying foxes dropped dead, falling from trees in Australia. Butterflies have gone extinct in the Alps, and giant squid …” You get the drift.
Global warming is truly a crisis. By consensus. Peoples across the world are actively promoting their own solutions, hoping against hope that rational people will see the error of their ways and join this selfless crusade:
Australian scientists are doing their part by trying to give kangaroo-style stomachs to cattle and sheep in a bid to cut their “emissions.”
A group of Israeli environmentalists is encouraging Jews around the world to light one less candle for Hanukkah.
