Bush Speaks About His Concerns Over Rush To Fix Global Warming

The AP reports on a couple key points Bush discussed in his global warming speech today.

Bush will speak forcefully about concerns he has over a possible rush to address the Earth's warming through a hodgepodge of regulations under existing federal laws such as the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act....

...Bush is not going to outline a specific proposal, but he'll lay out a strategy for "realistic" emission reduction targets and "principles" he thinks Congress should follow in crafting global warming legislation.

The new goal for curtailing greenhouse gas emissions is an attempt to short-circuit what White House aides call a potential regulatory "train wreck" if Congress doesn't act on climate change. The president's speech is aimed at shaping the debate on global warming in favor of solving the problem while avoiding heavy costs to industry and the economy.

The Bush administration has been a staunch opponent of a mandatory so-called "cap-and-trade" approach to reducing greenhouse gases. While it has backed some mandatory programs, it has preferred largely voluntary measures to broadly address global warming. In his speech, however, the president will not slam the door on discussing market-based approaches to stem the rise in greenhouse gas emissions.

Comments

[shockmagog]

George W. Bush, the world's biggest lame dork, runs out his disastrous term in office on ethanol fumes. Meanwhile:

'Cracks in Arctic ice shelf signal its demise'
Apr 12, 2008 04:30 AM

'Ranger Samson Ejanqiaq looks along the length of one of the gaping new cracks in the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf left in the Arctic, on April 1, 2008.'

'"Map of Canada has changed,"scientist says after rangers see collapse of polar landmark first-hand'

Daily Kos link:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/12/14711/3357/919/494362

Canadian article about the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf that Daily Kos refers to:

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/413838

[kae]

this just means it's officially too late - he's a pos

[wmbear]

WHAt RUSH?...

Bush has done everything he can for the Save Global Warming crowd. He must mean "Rush" as in "Rush Limbaugh"....

[realpolitic]

Who listens to what Bush says on anything these days? Bush has not taken the lead on climate change like he has not taken the lead on any issues except war making. It will be on the shoulders of others with more prescience than he to deal with.

[AmbivalentGuy]

I heard part of this speech.
He used the term "metric ton".
I'll bet he doesn't know what it means.

Oddly enough, I do know people who think he's great.
???

[realpolitic]

I think Bush also likes the term "switch grass." He likes to think it may solve our energy problems. I wonder why a few still consider Bush a mythological hero?

[RJC]

Our government is controlled by corporate America, we are a fascist state. We don't have " government by the people, for the people ", we have "government by the millionaires, for the millionaires". The difference between the corruption of the Dems & Reps is the corruption of the Republicans causes much more harm to everyday citizens lives, destroying their health care, workers rights, employment benefits, retirement savings, environmental quality, product safety, ad infinitum. They do this in the name of letting business do anything they want, unfettered by any oversight, depending on self-regulation, in the name of "Free Enterprise". The philosophy goes like this.: If a ( product, environmental damage, safety record ) is harmful/bad, people will stop ( buying, accepting ) the product,condition, or service. The business will suffer/fail, the stock price will go down. Hence there is a clean, natural, even Darwinian process in place. That's fine when it comes to a flavor of ice cream, or a new softer toilet paper. That is not fine when it comes to corporate greed, corporate profiteering, pharmaceuticals, medical practices, industrial environmental damages, product safety, health insurance, pension funds, warmongering for profit. This process of unfettered free enterprise takes years or decades to self regulate, in the meantime hundreds, thousands, millions of people have been irreparably damaged in their workplace, health status, and finances. People die early and needlessly resulting from Republican legislation.

[noneIn2008]

Freedom comes when you realize the Democrats and Republicans are run by the same machine. The facade is presented to make you "pick a side" of the same group. Better yet, take an objective look at both and see they are the same.

[RJC]

administration’s foreign and environmental policy. Hoping all goes well, but the inmates are truly running the asylum in this country. It is incomprehensible to the rest of the world how we could let a religious zealot at the control of the most powerful nation the world has ever seen. If we continue down this road, there will be another World War, and it will be the world against us. Western Europe has learned these lessons well, and is becoming more secular. Europeans enjoy greater civil liberties now than we do in this The rest of the world is whistling though the graveyard that is this country. We will be in the wrong because we are going down a path of hypocrisy, arrogance, intolerance, and military, economic, and social imperialism.

Reason and faith are mutually exclusive and it is imperative we stop pretending otherwise, the stakes are getting too high. There either is a supreme being or there isn’t. The burden of proof rests on those making an affirmative claim. These are extremely dangerous times, and we must preserve our freedoms. We really cannot afford to humor and tolerate the superstitious any longer, if they want a place at the table they must prove their case

[RJC]

This administration is clearly in the pocket of corporate interests. The balance of their refusal to protect our environment is on religious grounds. God put everything on this earth for man to use, and they are going to use it all up. Preserving anything for future generations is not needed, for the second coming of Christ, the rapture, eliminates the environment as a consideration. That begs the question; if we don’t need to worry about the environment due to the upcoming rapture, why are we so intent on building individual wealth? There is a significant core of GOP supporters who truly believe this. Of course every generation for the last 2000 years has believed the rapture would occur in their lifetime.

[MikeDu]

Maybe we're reading the headline wrong.
How about "To fix global warming Bush addresses concerns over Rush." Rush Limbaugh does produce as much gas and hot air as a mid-size 3rd world country. Perhaps Bush is addressing Rush's noxious emissions in an effort to fix global warming.

[HopeandChange]

Making fun of other people won't change the fact that people are starving to death because of liberal policies. Liberalism never works.

[AmbivalentGuy]

Yes,
and I see how energetically the conservatives are pursuing hunger.

[cmaff05]

A liberal is in office now? Last time I checked, we had a conservative president who was enacting conservative policies. The economy is in the tank and people are starving. Compassionate conservatism indeed.

[Coyote2]

George W. Bush is sitting on his hands and doing nothing. There are two enormous risks/threats facing America in the 21'st century: Climate Change and Energy Scarcity.

The problem is that these two risks will strike the security of our nation together as a two-headed monster.

Food Scarcity, Fundamentalism, Disease, Radical (nihilist) Environmentalism and the crumbling of our economy and built infrastructure will follow this monster and devastate western culture. It is quite possible that this century will close with an absence of the west.

The American Dream built upon a foundation of excessive consumption and cheap energy is over; OBSOLETE. The image of the Bush's in a ridiculous transport -a Ford SuperDuty- is the closing scene of both the twentieth century and the ridiculous super-rich American conservative/neocon: OBSOLETE.

Eat the rich.

[AmbivalentGuy]

How dare you distract from the Democratic American Idol Contest by bringing up some real issues!

Next, I suppose that you'll be exhibiting an understanding of history and the dangers of unbridled imperialism.

The sarcasm light is on here, smoke 'em if you got 'em.

[tbrnotb]

Please, please, PLEASE. We don't want industry (who have caused and profited by globally warming the planet) to have to burden themselves with the cost to try and correct this problem. WE just can't have that!

[Teritt]

Am I the only one that thinks it's funny that he has a 'bush guard' on the front of his Ford truck?

[AmbivalentGuy]

They're called "brush guards" around here. Brush as in a tangle of Shrubs.

[iPolitics]

Saudi Arabia hates America. Bush loves Saudi Arabia. Bush hates America.

[dogman44]

Shrub doesn't love Saudi Arabia. He loves the Saudi royal family. He could care less about how
they rule over the common rabble. In the same sense, shrub doesn't love America. He loves its
elite ruling class. Remember his people are the haves and have mores. He doesn't care a bit
about the rest of us. And after they've bled us into ruin shrub and his kind can buy up the nice
places that are still left in the world and retire

[FCBarca]

Lame duck President who isn't interested in peace, the will of the people or making the world a safer or healthier place is going to talk about something much less the environment?...Why?...Who is going to listen and why would anyone care what he has to say?

[noneIn2008]

More validation that this is a political football, just to toss around. Maybe time to take a hard look at the "warming" facade that is really meant to hold back developing countries

[greymen]

Why do you Boosh-lovers even go onto this website? Don't you have some toxic bile to spew on fox.com or some other I-wish-we-were-back-in-1862 shitknob site?

[joebaggadonuts]

Uh huh Now that Bushnomics has turned the US into a developing nation, it's time to take another look. I get it now. Thanks for explaining it.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Rush Limbaugh is going to fix global warming?