In the other thread we talked about the need to address climate change and how most of us would likely come to an agreement on what the US should do. With that I agree, promoting green energy, smart grids, energy efficiency, etc. are all pretty simple things with multiple benefits that most support.
The rub, however, is getting every other country to do their part too. (It should be noted here that the US is the outlier - nearly every other country is trying or at least not actively hindering like the US.)
It's a pyrrhic victory if we cut our emissions, but no one else does. Sure, we can hold over other countries' heads we did it, but our country will burn along with theirs. So my question is: should the US, when we get a non-jackass President who accepts the science, fund projects internationally to try to get them to reduce CO2 emissions? You can say, 'it's not our job', but if we feel the consequences, shouldn't we take an active role in fighting it?
This is the first truly global threat we have faced. People talk about how the world would react if we were invaded by aliens - would countries squabble internally, unite, etc. - but we are seeing essentially a real-life example of how we react.
The rub, however, is getting every other country to do their part too. (It should be noted here that the US is the outlier - nearly every other country is trying or at least not actively hindering like the US.)
It's a pyrrhic victory if we cut our emissions, but no one else does. Sure, we can hold over other countries' heads we did it, but our country will burn along with theirs. So my question is: should the US, when we get a non-jackass President who accepts the science, fund projects internationally to try to get them to reduce CO2 emissions? You can say, 'it's not our job', but if we feel the consequences, shouldn't we take an active role in fighting it?
This is the first truly global threat we have faced. People talk about how the world would react if we were invaded by aliens - would countries squabble internally, unite, etc. - but we are seeing essentially a real-life example of how we react.
