What's the issue? The world has been quite busy the last few weeks. Russia reached the North Pole in August and made claim to fossil fuels under the water. This opened up yet another issue: what is the big issue here is it global warming itself or is is the dwindling amounts of oil, coal and gas?
Many of you have heard of, or watched, Al Gore's, "Inconvenient Truth". Some say that climate change is a more urgent problem, while others say," that countries' infrastructure will grind to a halt if, through scarcity, natural disaster or terrorism, their fossil fuel supplies are cut off." On September 25th the United Nations hosted a Global Summit and the topic was global warming, President Bush did not attend, but is holding his own meeting shortly with a list of important who's who's across the world.
What difference will Kyoto make?
CNN posts that: The Kyoto Protocol obliges 35 rich nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions, but developing nations including China have no targets, while the U.S. and Australia have chosen not to ratify the agreement. By 2008, China will overtake the United States as the world's leading emitter of greenhouse gases.
The politicians' views
Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel told London's Financial Times in January this year that the critical question was that of fast-developing countries like China and India. "Even if Europe were to cut its CO2 emissions to zero, this would still fail to prevent a rise in temperature of at least two degrees," she said.
During his 2006 State of the Union address, U.S. President George W. Bush proposed weaning the U.S. from its dependence on imported oil, with a national goal of replacing more than 75% of American oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.
Share your views with the class.....
Which concerns you more -- the impact of fossil fuels on global warming, or energy as an issue of national security?
How can we solve these challenges?
Should we invest in securing the remaining sources of oil, coal and gas, or developing renewable fuels and technologies?
How far can renewable fuels meet our energy needs?
Is it morally right for developed countries to ask developing countries to restrict their emissions?
Are you hopeful that we can avert an energy crisis?
What are you doing to conserve energy?
So, if Al Gore right? is global warming real and a present danger?
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