Rice Urges Nations to Burn Cleaner.

[ABQCOWBOY]

http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=070927&cat=news&st=newsd8rtrbvo2&src=ap

Rice Urges Nations to Find Cleaner Fuels
Updated 9:52 AM ET September 27, 2007


By JOHN HEILPRIN

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice challenged the world's biggest polluters Thursday to "cut the Gordian knot of fossil fuels" by shifting toward energy sources that will reduce global warming _ without harming their economies.

"Ultimately we need to answer just one fundamental question: What kind of world do we wish to inhabit and what kind of world do we wish to pass on to future generations?" Rice said at the start of a two-day climate meeting called by President Bush.

The United States has lined up with China, India and other major polluters in opposition to the mandatory cuts in Earth-warming greenhouse gases sought by the United Nations and European countries.

Rice said the challenge of global climate change cannot be dealt with entirely as an environmental question, but "in a way that does not starve economies of the energy that they need to grow."

"Though united by common goals and collective responsibility, all nations should tackle climate change in the ways that they deem best," she said. "Managing the status quo is simply not an adequate response. ... We must cut the Gordian knot of fossil fuels."



A White House statement said the meeting will emphasize creating more diplomatic processes to find a solution to global warming, rather than setting firm goals for reducing carbon dioxide and other gases blamed for heating up the atmosphere.

The nations summoned by Bush will seek agreement on how the nations might set their own strategies beyond 2012, when the U.N.-brokered Kyoto Protocol expires, but also could include "a long-term global goal," the statement says.

Despite the emphasis on bureaucracy, James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council of Environmental Quality, told participants: "This has to be about more than presentations."

European leaders, who concede that the biggest polluting nations must be part of any solution, walked a thin line between skepticism and optimism.

"We can't do this on the basis of talking about talking or setting goals to set goals," John Ashton, a special representative on climate change for the British foreign secretary, said in an interview. "We know that a voluntary approach to global warming is about as effective as a voluntary speed limit sign in the road. We don't just need an approach that works; we need an approach that works very quickly."

Bush's meeting notably includes the fast-emerging economies whose exclusion from the group of industrialized nations participating in Kyoto has been cited by his administration as reasons for rejecting that international climate accord.

"This relatively small group of countries holds a key to tackling a big part of the problem," said Yvo de Boer, the top U.N. climate official.

Yet Bush also has competed for attention with the climate change summit that was held Monday in New York City at which U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned 80 world leaders that "the time for doubt has passed" and urged fast action to save future generations from potentially ruinous effects of global warming.

The U.S.-led talks Thursday and Friday unite countries at both ends of the economic spectrum, the haves and have-nots, in opposition to mandatory cuts in greenhouse gases, but for different reasons. The already-industrialized nations do not want to harm their economies, as Bush has argued. Developing nations do not want to give up ground toward industrializing _ and meeting basic human needs.

"For a developing country, the main task is to reduce poverty," Xie Zhenhua, vice chairman of China's national development and reform commission, told a forum Wednesday sponsored by the Center for Clean Air Policy, a think tank.

Mexico's environment minister agreed. "We have always to bear in mind that half our population is at the poverty line," said Juan Rafael Elvira Quesada. "We are also extremely concerned about the consequences, the adverse effects of climate change."

They expressed a strong preference for the climate negotiations later this year sponsored by the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, for which Ban's summit Monday was intended to build momentum.

"All these discussions should be taken within the framework of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol," Xie said.

But developing countries still are trying to curb their emissions while lifting the welfare of their citizens, said Sergio Serra, Brazil's first ambassador in charge of global warming issues.

"It is a myth to think the developing countries are doing nothing to address climate change," he said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

[BrAinPaiNt]

I don't know why she is even talking about this...everyone knows there is no such thing as global warming.

:D

[Doomsday101]

I don't know why she is even talking about this...everyone knows there is no such thing as global warming.

:D

When they can predict 3 days of weather with accuracy I'll take the doomsday prediction that is all too often thrown around regarding Global Warming. In the meantime I'm all for doing what we can to keep the enviorment.

[BrAinPaiNt]

When they can predict 3 days of weather with accuracy I'll take the doomsday prediction that is all too often thrown around regarding Global Warming. In the meantime I'm all for doing what we can to keep the enviorment.

3 days of weather accuracy? Heck that is easy.

Of course I know what you mean.:cool:

[jterrell]

When they can predict 3 days of weather with accuracy I'll take the doomsday prediction that is all too often thrown around regarding Global Warming. In the meantime I'm all for doing what we can to keep the enviorment.

You're in Houston.... Hot and muggy next 2 weeks with a chance of scattered showers... lol.

I don't get wrapped up in the climate debates but do concede ice caps are melting since that's a fairly easily verifiable fact.

Someone needs to tell Condi she is a Repub though what she suggests is almost liberal:)~

[Doomsday101]

You're in Houston.... Hot and muggy next 2 weeks with a chance of scattered showers... lol.

I don't get wrapped up in the climate debates but do concede ice caps are melting since that's a fairly easily verifiable fact.

Someone needs to tell Condi she is a Repub though what she suggests is almost liberal:)~

I agree the ice caps are melting what is debated by many is the reasons behind it. The Earth is in the mildest state of climate it has even seen we have not dealt with things such as ice age that the world went through and scientist have theories that they think caused it but are unsure and theories have changed over the years of it cause. We don't know if the earth is going through a nature cycle regarding the ozone and the melting of the caps that we are currently seeing. Hell man did not even know about the ozone until recent times and now they want to say they know all about it? Sorry but I see a lot of this as scare tactics to be able to get more money to continue research and while I'm not opposed to more research I do not get hung up on the doomsday predictions that people like Al Gore love to use and pass it off as fact when it is not fact it is a theory

[ABQCOWBOY]

I agree the ice caps are melting what is debated by many is the reasons behind it. The Earth is in the mildest state of climate it has even seen we have not dealt with things such as ice age that the world went through and scientist have theories that they think caused it but are unsure and theories have changed over the years of it cause. We don't know if the earth is going through a nature cycle regarding the ozone and the melting of the caps that we are currently seeing. Hell man did not even know about the ozone until recent times and now they want to say they know all about it? Sorry but I see a lot of this as scare tactics to be able to get more money to continue research and while I'm not opposed to more research I do not get hung up on the doomsday predictions that people like Al Gore love to use and pass it off as fact when it is not fact it is a theory


Rain forrest is dying fast. The over all foliage is shrinking all over the world. This is the Earths way of scrubbing the air we breath. More polution, less green trees available to clean it? Doesn't even matter if the earth is warming or not. That problem alone is good enough reason for us to start using cleaner burning fuels IMO.

[Doomsday101]

Rain forrest is dying fast. The over all foliage is shrinking all over the world. This is the Earths way of scrubbing the air we breath. More polution, less green trees available to clean it? Doesn't even matter if the earth is warming or not. That problem alone is good enough reason for us to start using cleaner burning fuels IMO.

I'm all for doing more to keep the air clean and looking for alternative fuels. What I don't like is scare tactics that get used.

[ABQCOWBOY]

I'm all for doing more to keep the air clean and looking for alternative fuels. What I don't like is scare tactics that get used.

Well, I don't know about you Dooms but as for myself, I don't need anybody to tell me we're screwing our planet up. I already know that. I also don't need any more justification to be affraid of that eventuality. I'm plenty affraid of what I'm leaving behind for my children already.

Heck, mortage payments I leave behind for them is gonna scare the BeJesus out of em as it is.

:laugh2:

[silverbear]

I agree the ice caps are melting what is debated by many is the reasons behind it. The Earth is in the mildest state of climate it has even seen we have not dealt with things such as ice age that the world went through and scientist have theories that they think caused it but are unsure and theories have changed over the years of it cause. We don't know if the earth is going through a nature cycle regarding the ozone and the melting of the caps that we are currently seeing. Hell man did not even know about the ozone until recent times and now they want to say they know all about it? Sorry but I see a lot of this as scare tactics to be able to get more money to continue research and while I'm not opposed to more research I do not get hung up on the doomsday predictions that people like Al Gore love to use and pass it off as fact when it is not fact it is a theory

You probably believe the world is flat, too...

[Doomsday101]

You probably believe the world is flat, too...

Not at all, from 1948 to 1971 the scientific community was warning about Global cooling and how it would bring about the next ice age. Temps start to warm up by the early 90's a new ideal enters the picture Global Warming and now the seas will rise up and swallow us up. I believe it is worth research and I believe in finding alternative fuels and making efforts to help keep the environment clean. I do not believe in scare tactics and making policy that would do great harm to the US economy based on theories. If some want to run around claiming the sky is falling so be it but right now no one knows what has caused the melting of the polar caps and they do not know if this is a normal cycle of the earth which is millions of years old while our knowledge of these events is still very small and without much long term data. Which is why I say they can't predict the damn weather yet I am supposed to believe that they know what the temps will be 50 years from now? Please, you may be that naive I'm not

[jterrell]

Not at all, from 1948 to 1971 the scientific community was warning about Global cooling and how it would bring about the next ice age. Temps start to warm up by the early 90's a new ideal enters the picture Global Warming and now the seas will rise up and swallow us up. I believe it is worth research and I believe in finding alternative fuels and making efforts to help keep the environment clean. I do not believe in scare tactics and making policy that would do great harm to the US economy based on theories. If some want to run around claiming the sky is falling so be it but right now no one knows what has caused the melting of the polar caps and they do not know if this is a normal cycle of the earth which is millions of years old while our knowledge of these events is still very small and without much long term data. Which is why I say they can't predict the damn weather yet I am supposed to believe that they know what the temps will be 50 years from now? Please, you may be that naive I'm not

ROFL. That sounds like an EXXON commercial.

Ok so we do have some crazies who want us to never eat meet, to walk everywhere we go and secure all chemicals in safe locations where they can't be touched....

Who cares?

All that scare tactic nonsense does is cloud the real issues.
We do have people abusing the environment for financial gain. Asking them not to do so as Condi Rice did is hardly going to cripple the economy.

OK so some scientists want research money from the gov't others want it from EXXON et al.

You are from Houston for cripessake, you don't need a scientist to tell you the Port of Houston has been horrendously effected by pollution from oil companies.

Deer Park has become a ghost town.

I took one Cruise out of that port and swore never again to drive through there. It was literally disgusting.

They do not even bother to repair the roads anymore.

[Doomsday101]

ROFL. That sounds like an EXXON commercial.

Ok so we do have some crazies who want us to never eat meet, to walk everywhere we go and secure all chemicals in safe locations where they can't be touched....

Who cares?

All that scare tactic nonsense does is cloud the real issues.
We do have people abusing the environment for financial gain. Asking them not to do so as Condi Rice did is hardly going to cripple the economy.

OK so some scientists want research money from the gov't others want it from EXXON et al.

You are from Houston for cripessake, you don't need a scientist to tell you the Port of Houston has been horrendously effected by pollution from oil companies.

Deer Park has become a ghost town.

I took one Cruise out of that port and swore never again to drive through there. It was literally disgusting.

They do not even bother to repair the roads anymore.

And you sound like the movie promo of Al Gore and his tree hugging chicken little group. The sky is falling. I'm not saying that there is no pollution and I'm not saying that we should not do a better job of keeping the envioroment clean but I'm not going to run around hollering the world is coming to an end like so many of these blowhards are doing. I guess you believe anything and everything they tell you. At one time doctors thought if you bleed a person you could get rid of the illness or using leaches would do the trick. All I'm suggesting is people get off the damn panic bottom and learn more before running around and expecting nations to jepordise their ecomony until more information is there. There is a hell of a lot these scientist do not know or hows and whys but the Al Gores and Micheal Moores of the world running around talking about some worst case senerio that they have no clue as to what they are talking about in the meantime many in the public buy is BS hook line and sinker.

[VA Cowboy]

Rice burner, eh?

[AbeBeta]

Not at all, from 1948 to 1971 the scientific community was warning about Global cooling and how it would bring about the next ice age.

That's a nice story, but that ice age business NEVER reflected the level of agreement among scientists that global climate change secures. Yes, there were a handful of scientific papers that made that claim. The popular press took that ran with it. Global warming on the other had is supported by 1000s empirical studies not just a handful. So saying that the scientific community was all about cooling just doesn't reflect the reality.

[Doomsday101]

That's a nice story, but that ice age business NEVER reflected the level of agreement among scientists that global climate change secures. Yes, there were a handful of scientific papers that made that claim. The popular press took that ran with it. Global warming on the other had is supported by 1000s empirical studies not just a handful. So saying that the scientific community was all about cooling just doesn't reflect the reality.

Actually it was a pretty common feeling in many circles regarding global cooling. All I'm saying is there is a lot they do not know about the reasons for the melting of the polar cap they do not know if this is a cycle the earth is going through they don't know how much of this is caused by man and before people go destroying the economy you better know what you are talking about and not a bunch of theories that are being passed off as hardcore facts as so many have been doing.

[iceberg]

I don't know why she is even talking about this...everyone knows there is no such thing as global warming.

:D

i thought there was a vast agreement that the climate *is* getting warmer and the disagreement was how much mankind has a role in it?

[iceberg]

You probably believe the world is flat, too...

ever been to the midwest? it's got it's flat parts. : )

[ConcordCowboy]

You probably believe the world is flat, too...

http://cagle.com/news/GlobalWarming07/images/benson.gif

[ConcordCowboy]

ROFL. That sounds like an EXXON commercial.

Ok so we do have some crazies who want us to never eat meet, to walk everywhere we go and secure all chemicals in safe locations where they can't be touched....

Who cares?

All that scare tactic nonsense does is cloud the real issues.
We do have people abusing the environment for financial gain. Asking them not to do so as Condi Rice did is hardly going to cripple the economy.

OK so some scientists want research money from the gov't others want it from EXXON et al.

You are from Houston for cripessake, you don't need a scientist to tell you the Port of Houston has been horrendously effected by pollution from oil companies.

Deer Park has become a ghost town.

I took one Cruise out of that port and swore never again to drive through there. It was literally disgusting.

They do not even bother to repair the roads anymore.

http://cagle.msnbc.com/news/GlobalWarmingSteigerwald/images/plante.gif

[AbeBeta]

Actually it was a pretty common feeling in many circles regarding global cooling. All I'm saying is there is a lot they do not know about the reasons for the melting of the polar cap they do not know if this is a cycle the earth is going through they don't know how much of this is caused by man and before people go destroying the economy you better know what you are talking about and not a bunch of theories that are being passed off as hardcore facts as so many have been doing.

No, actually it was a pretty common MEDIA story with a handful of scientists pushing the idea -- many of whom who changed their minds later. Nowhere near the scientific agreement.