Columnist Robert J. Samuelson attempts this week to inject some common sense into the global warming debate.
In his Newsweek piece, Samuelson avoids the debate about the science of climate chage. Instead, he focuses on the economic damage that would follow any efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
He also highlights an aspect of the debate that tends to get little coverage:
In the global-warming debate, there’s a big gap between public rhetoric (which verges on hysteria) and public behavior (which indicates indifference). People say they’re worried but don’t act that way. Greenhouse emissions continue to rise despite many earnest pledges to control them. Just last week, the United Nations reported that of the 41 countries it monitors (not including most developing nations), 34 had increased greenhouse emissions from 2000 to 2004. These include most countries committed to reducing emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
