Conventional Wisdom:
Bush walked away from the Kyoto protocol because the U.S. he is in bed with oil, and because the U.S. is environmentally irresponsible and wants to continue to be so.
Facts:
The world-wide excoriation of George Bush for rejecting the Kyoto protocol was extraordinary. There are literally hundreds of thousands of web pages that mention, usually derisively, that George Bush refused to sign or abandoned the treaty. Even among those who have a vague idea that the proposed treaty to reduce global greenhouse emissions was flawed, most have the impression that it was simply tough-minded realism that caused Bush to reject it and take the hit. What few people know is that before Bush took office, the U.S. Senate voted 97-0 to reject the protocol. It didn't get one vote on either side of the aisle.
Step forward a decade. The United States is still widely criticized for being one of only two countries in the world that has not ratified the Kyoto treaty. It is less popular to point out that, with a few exceptions, the major countries that committed to reducing carbon emissions under the agreement are not doing it. Carbon emissions are going up, not down, let alone declining enough to meet the ambitious goals of Kyoto. The noteworthy exceptions are Germany, which is benefiting from reduced emissions in the smokestack-filled former East Germany as it is rebuilt, and the small, homogeneous nations of Denmark and Norway.100
It may come as an even greater surprise that during the latest six years for which information is available (2000-2005), carbon emissions grew by 1.5 percent in the U.S., compared with 3.3 percent in the European Union. This is the Europe whose commitments to reduce emissions are often held up as an example, which has an elaborate system of carbon caps and trading, and where the most vocal criticisms of American emissions policies come from. Greenhouse emissions, a broader measure than carbon emissions, were up .6 percent in the U.S. and .8 percent in the E.U. during the same time period.101 Preliminary information indicates that 2006 emissions were down -1.8 percent in the U.S.102 while estimates for Europe range from -.8 percent to +1 percent103104105 The U.S.'s favorable comparison was achieved in spite of faster economic growth, meaning its "greenhouse gas intensity"--a fair measure of progress--declined by significantly more than in the E.U.106 Some of this was apparently due to weather conditions, but much was also driven by little publicized programs that followed George Bush's public commitment in the proposed 2002 Clear Skies Act to reduce carbon intensity in the U.S. by 18 percent in ten years. This proposal was blocked by democrats in congress because it replaced some outdated and unachievable goals in prior legislation with more realistic ones. The administration then pressed forward to implement some of its measures administratively through the Environmental Protection Agency by strongly encouraging the adoption of cleaner technologies in about 30 specific emissions-intensive industries through tax incentives, voluntary partnerships, streamlined processes, and mandates. The U.S. government increased its spending on natural resources and the environment by 41% over seven years107 and committed more than $30 billion to climate science, technology, international assistance on emissions, and incentive programs.108
The U.S. later forged an agreement with six Asian countries in 2005 which is designed to complement Kyoto by encouraging and assisting in the adoption of new technologies that reduce emissions, especially in the use of coal. This agreement was later joined by Canada as it became clearer that its Kyoto commitments would not be met and that the treaty itself was turning out to be less successful than hoped.
Much more could be written about U.S. progress, some of which is truly impressive, in reducing other forms of pollutants and acid rain by amounts of 48 percent to 98 percent over the past 30 years. The U.S. is well ahead of most regions of the world in reducing many or most of these forms of pollution. A lot of work has also been done in recent years to improve the health of our forests, national parks, farmlands, marine ecosystems, wetlands, water, and to clean up abandoned old industrial sites called "brownfields." Details of the Clear Skies Initiative, the Global Climate Change Initiative, the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, and other programs can be found using Google, but you'll have to wade through much criticism about how the proposals are propaganda, sell-outs with relaxed standards, and too industry-friendly--as well as the many thousands of web sites with snide comments about Bush's rejection of Kyoto--to find those showing that the actual results of these programs are beating those of the Kyoto protocol.
Miscellaneous Misconceptions
Reality Check explains the truth about what got Scooter Libby in trouble and how incredibly different it is from what the media has tried to make it appear to be. Reality Check also debunks conspiracy theories and misconceptions people seem to hold related to Dick Cheney's connections with Halliburton.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Time Series - Annex 1 nations, http://unfccc.int/ghg_data/ United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Time Series - Annex 1 nations http://unfccc.int/ghg_data/ "An Inconvenient Reduction," The Wall Street Journal, December 3, 2007. Drew Thornley, "Carbon Dioxide Emissions Fall in U.S., Rise in Europe," Environment & Climate News, March 1, 2008. Keith Johnson, "Carbon Copy: Europe's Still Not Cutting Emissions," The Wall Street Journal, April 2, 2008, 4:00 pm. Leigh Phillips, "EU remains off track to meet Kyoto targets," EUobserver.com, June 19, 2008. In the four years from 2000 - 2004, the U.S. greenhouse gas intensity dropped by 7.5 percent while the E.U. gas intensity dropped by about 4.5 percent. To illustrate the concept of energy intensity, if a country grows by 20% and emissions remain the same, clearly it has done more than a country whose emissions stay the same while there is no economic growth. GPOaccess, Budget of the United States Government: Historical Tables Fiscal Year 2008, http://www.gpoaccess.gov/ Kurt Volker - Remarks at the German Marshall Fund, "Post-Kyoto Surprise: America's Quiet Efforts to Cut Greenhouse Gases Are Producing Results," Berlin, Germany, February 12, 2007.
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