Greed, carbon emissions and the politicians by Claudia Sonea

“Man overboard” is what we will soon be shouting when the Earth will be mostly covered with water. Unconsciously as we are behaving, we are in fact killing ourselves and putting an end to the future of our children. What we do in the present has deep repercussions in the future and unfortunately those who will suffer will be our successors. If the developing countries and the developed countries believe that they are outside the dangers of the pollution they are causing, they couldn’t be more naïve as they live on the same planet as we do and they might enjoy the wealth and comfort of the present, but endure the hardship of the future. ! This week at the conference on climate change held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 7 to 18 December, the leaders from 105 countries were facing disagreement on the guidelines set by the Kyoto treaty. Countries like Denmark or Japan are already trying to evade some of the principals of the 1997 document like cutting the carbon emissions and paying penalties for not succeeding to do so. US, one of the two main generators of pollution, rejected the Kyoto treaty and with the economic crisis that the country deals with, it is most probably to evade too the same principals. The leaders of US and China, the two main polluters, are not as open to communication as they seemed before the conference. However, the rising temperatures lead to the melting of glaciers, the rising of the sea level, which on the long run affects US and China too. According to the scientists’ reports by 2010 states like Louisiana, Texas, Florida will be facing some serious ! inundations due to a 3-foot sea-level rise. Moreover, climate ! changes will lead to a decrease in the food production sector and in the breeding of the species. In spite of the greedy politicians who are never focused on coming up with ideas for a cleaner and safer environment, for a better cooperation to ensure the wellbeing of the people without putting all efforts into the industrial sector, non-governmental agencies and environmentalists were gathered to attend the meeting and ensure that the leaders feel the pressure and discontentment of the people. Hopefully, the US plan which involves the spending of $350 million in the next five years in order to provide cleaner energy systems to poor and developing countries, will be seen as feasible and thus will be put in action. Stay connected, more to come!

related story (sgx16132): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091214/ap_on_sc/climate;_ylt=Av...

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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