CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- As an American, I am appalled, ashamed and embarrassed by my country's lack of leadership in dealing with global warming. Scientific evidence on the risks mounts by the day, as most recently documented in England's magisterial Stern Report. Yet, despite the fact that the United States accounts for roughly 25 percent of all man-made global carbon emissions, Americans show little will or inclination to temper their manic consumption.
The first Bush administration was probably right to refuse to sign the Kyoto Protocol, albeit for the wrong reasons. Among other problems, the Kyoto Protocol does not go far enough toward redistributing carbon emission rights toward developing countries. But why can't the United States bring itself to raise taxes on gasoline and other sources of carbon emission like coal-burning power plants?
Many people seem to think that the Bush administration is the problem. Put a Texas oilman and his buddies in charge and what do you expect, conservation? Unfortunately, that is a facile excuse.