April 25, 2001

James Markels goes to the

James Markels goes to the heart of why many want the U.S. entangled by the Kyoto Protocols:

If the Kyoto treaty is meant to address CO2 emissions, then it must allow for CO2 sequestering. If the production of CO2 is bad, then the absorption of CO2 is thereby good and must be rewarded. All the CO2 absorbed by plants in the United States should count toward America's CO2 emissions status. But this implicitly allows that CO2 production itself is not bad providing it can be "cleaned up" later by planting more trees and the like, and this is not the message that the EU is interested in sending with the Kyoto treaty.

When one looks at the EU's proposals, one clear belief shines through: The United States is morally wrong to produce and consume so much, and we must be punished.

Under the rubric of "saving the earth" Kyoto is being used to weaken the U.S. economically and strategically.

"How to Improve the Kyoto Treaty"