Action Needed on Global Warming

It was nearly 30 years ago when President Jimmy Carter said we must take these steps. Since then we have not had any leadership willing to take on the Corporations that fight any laws that would reduce emissions. Think tank urges US action now on global warming Wed Feb 8, 2006 2:03 PM ET By Tom Doggett WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States must take steps now to fight global warming, including working with other nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a major U.S. think tank said on Wednesday. The Pew Center for Global Climate Change said in a report that America has waited too long to seriously tackle the climate change problem and spelled out 15 steps the United States could take to reduce emissions it spews as the world's biggest energy consumer and producer of greenhouse gases. "This transition will not be easy, but it is crucial to begin now," the Pew Center said. "Further delay will only make the challenge before us more daunting and more costly." The call for action came as a group of 85 evangelical leaders called on the U.S. Congress to pass legislation that would require power plants, oil refineries, the transportation sector and other U.S. industries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. The evangelical leaders, breaking with the White House, will roll out an advertising campaign; the group last year lobbied against gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. The European Union, Japan and most other industrialized nations are part of the Kyoto Protocol that imposes hard targets to reduce global warming emissions. But President George W. Bush said the United States would not join the international agreement because it could hurt America's economy. Instead, his administration is promoting a voluntary program that U.S. companies can join to cut their emissions. The Pew Center said the administration must do more. "The United States should declare its intention to work with other countries to strengthen the multilateral framework for climate action (and) the executive branch should analyze the full range of options and their potential consequences," the group said. Read on: Reuters