The Bottom Line: Obama and Global Warming

Finally, U.S President Barak Obama decided to participate, along with most world leaders, in the Copenhagen Conference that will address the adverse climate changes affecting the globe due to global warming.

Obama’s decision came after the previous administration of George W. Bush long rejected taking any practical or even impractical steps to prevent the expected damage to the earth, damage predicted by American scientists.

Even though the United States is the biggest source of global warming in the world — it alone releases 25 percent of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through its factories and machines — George Bush refused to sign the 1994 Kyoto Convention that calls for the countries of the world to take practical steps to decrease global warming. This negative attitude from the biggest country in the world is a reflection of the Americans’ arrogance, displayed in such decisions as refusing to allow American soldiers to be judged by the International Criminal Court for committing war crimes.

Global warming, according to the Americans themselves, will have serious consequences for many countries; the temperature increase will cause the polar ice to melt completely, which means, according to scientists, that the sea level will rise dramatically and sink great parts of the earth including the Nile Delta in Egypt, which is currently inhabited by more than half of the Egyptian population. In addition to Egypt, Bahrain will also be inundated, since it is among the countries threatened by this phenomenon.

Yet, the same United States that claims the right to act on less-critical issues does not do its duty to prevent the environmental damage it causes. The fact that the United States is not playing the biggest role in protecting the earth is yet more evidence of its double standards.

President Obama’s decision to participate in the Copenhagen Conference, which was welcomed by the whole world, should be only the beginning of a change in American policy towards environmental issues. It should be a prelude to taking practical steps in this regard. It should not be just a protocol participation to improve the American image in the world as part of the public relations campaign that began when Obama came to rule and has not yet ended.