They took a pretty noteworthy stance in Copenhagen today. The 12,000 people of the island nation get the benefit of a voice at the climate change conference, and they used it to request that the treaty created be stronger than the 12-year-old Kyoto treaty, which the bulk of the world (but, notably, not the U.S.) agreed to. Tuvalu wants to see both developed and developing countries cut emissions. Why the tough stance? Well, they’re an island in the middle of the ocean susceptible to rising tides. Duh. souce
Their behavior has caused grave damage to the public trust in climate science in general, and to the IPCC, in particular. They should not be allowed to do so in the future.
Wisconsin Rep. James Sensenbrenner • On “Climategate,” the hacked e-mail controversy which has convinced him to go to Copenhagen to give a Republican response to Obama’s stance on the issue. Great. Just what the world needed – some guy to bring our crazy to the rest of the world. source
This is a big deal, guys. The Obama administration now has a new tool to cut down on greenhouse gases. It’s the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA now will formally say that greenhouse gases are a danger to human health – something which will give them the right to do something even if Congress doesn’t act on regulating carbon emissions. Good timing, too, what with that whole Copenhagen emissions summit thingy starting up today. source
