Is the Kyoto Protocol Bias?

Once again I find inspiration from the C.B.C.s website. This time is the article Harper alone on climate change at Commonwealth summit. Apparently Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the only head of a nation that doesn't want to agree to binding targets for greenhouse gases. There has been a few stories about Harper not wanting anything to do with the Kyoto Protocol, this time his only supporter, the Prime Minister of Australia, is busy with up coming elections. Granted here in Canada, warmer winters could be a good thing, considering it can get really cold, even in the most southern parts of the country.

The reason why I don't support Harper on this issue is that, even though I'm not the perfect example for green living, I do care about our environment. I can understand that some green policies can be bad for business, but really, we all live on the same planet and are facing the same global issues. The Internet has opened up many channels of communication and given us more access to information than we would have had twenty years ago, when the 'Commodore 64' was still popular. It's amazing just how much our world has changed since a large populous gained access to the military invention.

Back to the article, the British Prime Minister has said that he would persuade Harper into following the crowd on this issue. Whether or not the British P.M. will be successful remains to be seen. The Conservative minority government here in Canada has pushed the Kyoto Protocol to the back burner. I'm curious to see what effect the recent U.N. Climate Conference will have on pressuring environment ministers into creating an updated version of the Kyoto Protocol. The up coming U.N. Sponsored Climate Change summit in Bali, Indonesia is where we could see an updated version of the Kyoto Protocol.

I have also found an article on C.T.V.s website called All countries must agree to GHG cuts: Harper, which gives us some insight into P.M. Stephen Harper's logic on blocking this agreement. Its interesting to see a different spin on the same topic, and when the topic is climate change, things are definitely getting heated. Harper is taking the position that the Kyoto Protocol is biased.

The Kyoto Protocol was designed to give 36 industrialized nations incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to set targets. I think the system is failing. Smaller nations not included in the Kyoto Protocol are catching up to the 36 nations included in the Kyoto Protocol, as a result, more nations are veering away from targets set by the Kyoto Protocol. Next months Climate Change summit in Bali should be a breeding ground for a new and up to date version of the Kyoto Protocol. I realize that all these summits on Climate Change will not produce a solution for Global Warming, but more ideas on reducing the speed at which our planet warms up will definitely be exchanged.

One thing that I can see eye to eye with Harper on is that the Kyoto Protocol is biased. If we are actually going to do something about Global Warming, it will have to be everyone on the planet. Most cities are becoming overwhelmed with smog, which chokes us and creates numerous health problems. All of this could have been prevented years ago, but now that we are faced with increased pollutants, we all must do something about it, not just the major industrialized nations of the world. How long will we take a step back instead of moving forward with cleaning up our environment?

My final thought is: unless all nations make efforts to slow global warming, our wonderful blue planet and its inhabitants should be placed on the endangered species list. Sooner or later the environmental crimes of the past will overwhelm our future. We shouldn't be looking to space for an answer when its right in front of us!