Just the facts: 10 Warmest Years on Record at the end of the 1980's: 1) 1983 2) '87 3) '88 4) '81 5) '80 6) '89 7) '44 8) '41 9) '73 10) '77 ^6 of the top 10 are in the previous decade^ 1990: IPCC reports that greenhouse gasses are the cause of climate change. 10 Warmest Years on Record at the end of the 1990's: 1) '98 2) '97 3) '95 4) '99 5) '90 6) '91 7) '83 8) '87 9) '88 10) '94 ^7 of the top 10 are in the previous decade^ 1995: 2,500 IPCC scientists release a report stating that "The balance of evidence suggests a discernable human influence on global climate." 1997: IPCC reports an immediate 60-80% reduction in emissions is needed to stop global climate change from continuing. 1997: Kyoto Protocol requires a reduction in emissions of 6% for Japan, 7% for US, and 8% for EU by the year 2010. Seen as a conservative goal given the IPCC estimates. 1997: the U.S. Senate unanimously passed by a 95–0 vote the Byrd-Hagel Resolution which stated the sense of the Senate was that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing nations as well as industrialized nations or "would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States." 1998: Vice President Al Gore symbolically signed the protocol. Both Gore and Senator Joseph Lieberman indicated that the protocol would not be acted upon in the Senate until there was participation by the developing nations. The Clinton Administration never submitted the protocol to the Senate for ratification. 10 Warmest Years on Record at the end of 2008: 1) '98 2) '05 3) '03 4) '02 5) '04 6) '06 7) '07 8) '01 9) '97 10) '08 ^8 of the top 10 are in the last decade^ (and the decade isn't over yet) 2001: President George W. Bush rejects the Kyoto Protocol altogether, saying "This is a challenge that requires a 100% effort; ours, and the rest of the world's. The world's second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases is the People's Republic of China. Yet, China was entirely exempted from the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol." 2004: The total greenhouse gas emissions from China are about 54% of the U.S. emissions. However, China has been building on average one coal-fired power plant every week, and plans to continue doing so for years. As a result, various estimates see China overtaking the U.S. in total greenhouse emissions some time between 2006 and 2010. 2007: IPCC states that they are "90% certain" that global warming is caused by human activities. 2007: China unveils a 62-page climate change plan and promised to put climate change at the heart of its energy policies and insisted that developed countries had an “unshirkable responsibility” to take the lead on cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Nations the size of Taiwan or greater that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol (as of March 2009): Iraq Afghanistan Mauritania Zimbabwe Somalia Taiwan Unites States of America ^hmm^ Nations the size of Taiwan or greater that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol (as of March 2009): All others (183 nations including China, Asia, South America, Europe, Canada, Mexico and Oceania) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kyoto_Protocol_participation_map_2009.png USA/Canada is the only region in the world releasing in excess of 1,000 million metric tons of carbon per year, and this year we are releasing close to 1,700 million (metric tons). You can see in this graph that our emissions continue to increase, while europe has been decreasing their emissions since the 1980's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carbon_Emission_by_Region.png In Summary: Global Warming is real. China's on board. The 'developing nations' are on board. Bush is out of office. It's time for us to do our part, and become a true world leader. March 24, 2009: It is announced that Obama's global warming plan won't be in the budget this year.
