Synchronicity
Occasionally whatever stands behinds the universe indulges me and provides a series of events which when added up provide a moment of clarity. Today I had one of those moments.
Tempted by a 'headline' from the Earthlink streaming banner (which usually just distracts and annoys me), I broke my resolve and clicked on it. A quick Google search provided me with a citable link.
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who'd left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media say.
Shortly thereafter (my head suitably scratched by this story), I read another article, this from The New York Times:
The summit meeting's biggest disappointment involved global warming, an issue that Mr. Blair had elevated above all others except foreign aid. In what will stand as a testament to America's influence but not, unfortunately, to its intelligence or courage, the White House succeeded in turning what might have been a powerful commitment by the industrialized nations to confront global warming into diplomatic mush.
The communiqué acknowledges that climate change is a serious "long term" challenge, though "immediate" challenge would have been more to the point. The 1998 G-8 communiqué, by contrast, described climate change as "the greatest environmental threat to our future prosperity."
The new communiqué further commits all eight nations to work together and in partnership with major developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ...
But these goals are vaguely stated, and, worse, there is nothing approaching a road map for achieving them. Mr. Blair had hoped for much more: mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, like those already in effect in Europe; a trading system to mitigate compliance costs; concrete financial commitments to new technologies; specific targets for energy efficiency. But the White House would have none of it, clinging instead to Mr. Bush's approach of asking industry for voluntary reductions.
The net result is that little has changed on the warming issue. [Emphasis added]
Visions of sheep fill my head. Thank you, Mr. Bush.
Tempted by a 'headline' from the Earthlink streaming banner (which usually just distracts and annoys me), I broke my resolve and clicked on it. A quick Google search provided me with a citable link.
ISTANBUL, Turkey -- First one sheep jumped to its death. Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who'd left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media say.
Shortly thereafter (my head suitably scratched by this story), I read another article, this from The New York Times:
The summit meeting's biggest disappointment involved global warming, an issue that Mr. Blair had elevated above all others except foreign aid. In what will stand as a testament to America's influence but not, unfortunately, to its intelligence or courage, the White House succeeded in turning what might have been a powerful commitment by the industrialized nations to confront global warming into diplomatic mush.
The communiqué acknowledges that climate change is a serious "long term" challenge, though "immediate" challenge would have been more to the point. The 1998 G-8 communiqué, by contrast, described climate change as "the greatest environmental threat to our future prosperity."
The new communiqué further commits all eight nations to work together and in partnership with major developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ...
But these goals are vaguely stated, and, worse, there is nothing approaching a road map for achieving them. Mr. Blair had hoped for much more: mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, like those already in effect in Europe; a trading system to mitigate compliance costs; concrete financial commitments to new technologies; specific targets for energy efficiency. But the White House would have none of it, clinging instead to Mr. Bush's approach of asking industry for voluntary reductions.
The net result is that little has changed on the warming issue. [Emphasis added]
Visions of sheep fill my head. Thank you, Mr. Bush.
posted by Diane at 9:55 AM
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