Demokratier prioriterar
pengar före naturen

För att vi ska kunna tackla de nuvarande och stundande globala miljöproblemen måste vi utgå ifrån ett samhälle som värderar helhetens välmående framför penningens och individens. Demokratier vägrar kränka individen och därför kommer den heller aldrig att lösa våra miljöproblem:

Australia would not end its biggest single export, coal, as part of the government's strategy to curb greenhouse gas emissions, Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday.

Scientist and author Tim Flannery, who last month was chosen as Australian of the Year for his contribution to public understanding of the environment, said late Wednesday that Australia could no longer justify being the world's largest coal exporter given the dire consequences of global warming.

But Howard ruled out cutting coal exports, arguing that Australia's response to climate change must protect jobs in the coal industry.

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"That would be devastating to many communities throughout Australia; it would cost thousands of jobs — we are the largest coal exporter in the world," Howard added.

He said his government was investing in the development of new technology that would make coal-fired power generation cleaner.

"We must respond to the challenge of climate change, but we have got to do it in a measured and practical way that doesn't unfairly disadvantage the economy of this country," he added. ¹

Pengar går före naturens välmående; detta är den moderna "utvecklingen" i dagens demokratier. Amerika ser sig lika blinda på ekonomi, fastän de uppenbarligen inte förstår att vi om 50-100 år kanske inte ens kommer att kunna leva på den här planeten:

Corporate moguls, policy experts and U.S. senators spoke with one voice about global warming Wednesday, telling a world forum that the United States must take a lead role in cutting greenhouse gases if it wants to encourage China and India to do the same.

At a Capitol Hill meeting that included representatives from the Group of Eight industrialized nations plus China, India, South Africa, Brazil and the European Union, Sen. John McCain put the case for action on climate change bluntly.

"The debate is over, my friends," the Arizona Republican said. "Now the question is what do we do? Do we act, do we care enough about the young people of the next generation to act seriously and meaningfully, or are we going to just continue this debate and this discussion?"

McCain said the push to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that spur global climate change was a national security issue, and that voluntary efforts to limit these emissions from vehicles, power plants and other human sources "will not change the status quo."

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Lieberman, who also addressed the group in the ornate Senate Caucus Room, noted growing momentum for U.S. action "after many years of denial and inaction" on global warming.

"I want to make a prediction, which is that the Congress of the United States will enact a nationwide law mandating substantial reductions in greenhouse gases before the end of this Congress or early in the next," Lieberman said. This session of Congress ends in late 2008.

The Bush administration has rejected calls for mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, maintaining that such caps would harm the U.S. economy. ²

Tydligen är det viktigare att vi lever "fria" liv, konsumerar upp alla naturresurser och jämnar skogar med marken i stället för att blicka framåt och vårda planeten inför nästa generation människor.