Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumStates, nations moving on climate without Trump
President Trumps spoken thoughts on climate change layer ignorance over irresponsibility. They humiliate thinking Americans and frustrate our friends. The presidents recent refusal in Europe to commit to sticking with the Paris accord for curbing planet-warming gas emissions is the latest national embarrassment.
Trump did say hed come up with an answer in a week, and if he has by the time you read this, the decision wont entirely matter. Even if we stay in, few allies trust Trump, given his penchant for cheating.
But though the presidency is powerful, its not all-powerful. There are workarounds, and theyre already in motion. German Chancellor Angela Merkel alluded to the possibilities Sunday, when she called on Europe to basically give up on Trumps America: We Europeans must really take our fate into our own hands.
Team Trump should drop any fantasy that other nations would bear the burden of addressing the climate change crisis while letting Americans belch greenhouse gases willy-nilly. A former French president has already called for slapping U.S. products with a carbon tax if Trump goes AWOL on the Paris agreement.
The sovereign state of California, however, could have a better deal. California has been establishing its own foreign policy on climate. And why wouldnt it?
Were California a country, its economy would be sixth-largest in the world. Entrepreneurs in this science and tech powerhouse are already making a ton of money finding ways to reduce emissions. Clean energy now employs more people in California than coal employs in all of America.
http://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/harrop-states-nations-moving-on-climate-without-trump/?utm_source=DAILY+HERALD&utm_campaign=2fee16dd07-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d81d073bb4-2fee16dd07-228635337
brokephibroke
(1,883 posts)the axis of lame.
defacto7
(13,485 posts)once the GOP is out of the way we'll all be back on track together.