It's about time!

One of the most annoying things about the U.S. has been its stance on global warming and the need to look into alternate means of energy and resources to continue life as we know it on this planet. While the rest of the world gladly participates in alternative energy discussions and ways to reduce greenhouse emissions, the United States has gone about its business like the giant bully, waving its fist in the air and declaring that it needs not heed such warnings because it is somehow magically exempt from the effects.

For those of you who might not be initiated, it all started back in 1997 with the introduction of the Kyoto Protocol. Basically, it's a world-wide effort put together by a variety of countries to lay down policies to reduce greenhouse emissions and set milestones and legal precedence in order to make sure that each country is doing its part. And while the U.S. was one of the country's spear-heading the operation back in 1997, the illustrious George W. Bush renounced the program when he came into office, claiming that Kyoto was a flawed agreement because it would harm the U.S. economy by requiring people to look at alternate means of energy.

I had to snicker at the part where he claimed it would harm the U.S. economy. This, coming from the man whose administration effectively ran the United States into the ground.

In fact, not so long ago, at a meeting in Bali, Indonesia, where talks were underway to renew the Kyoto Protocol, which is due to expire in 2012, the U.S. negotiators were literally booed off the stage when they threatened to veto a two-year negotiation process set in place to replace Kyoto. It got so heated, in fact, that one of the delegates basically told the U.S. negotiator to put up or shut up, saying "If you aren't willing to lead, then get out of the way".

Enter the Obama administration. On Sunday, in Germany, the U.S. actually won applause for the first time in years when the new administration pledged to make up for lost time in reaching a global agreement on climate change and ways the U.S. can cut their greenhouse emissions.

Obama gets it. And it's about damn time. Now, personally, I wasn't a big "green" freak until the past couple of years, and I have my wife to thank for my eventual change. But as I've done my own research and studied the facts, it's alarming. It's not just global warming or the reduction of the ozone layer. It's the continual consumption of limited resources. And while the rest of the world has been taking steps to insure our survival on this planet (with countries like Finland leading the pack in terms of alternative renewable energy resources), the U.S. has blindly continued on its path of destruction, putting the (cough cough) U.S. economy ahead of global warming and climate change.

However, Obama's administration faces a pretty big challenge. Making up for 8 years of blatant disregard for the climate (much the same way a child plugs his or her ears and yells "I can't hear you I can't hear you I can't hear you!" when ignoring someone) is a daunting task. Whether or not they can actually follow through remains to be seen, but at the very least they are willing to put the right foot forward and actually look into joining the global team of people who actually give a shit about our planet.

You can find the article I read over here