BUSH AND CLIMATE CHANGE….The Independent claims that George Bush is getting ready to become a true believer in global warming:
After years of trying to sabotage agreements to tackle climate change he is drawing up plans to control emissions of carbon dioxide and rapidly boost the use of renewable energy sources.
Administration insiders privately refer to the planned volte-face as Mr Bush’s “Nixon goes to China moment”….Sources say that the most likely moment [for the announcement] is the President’s State of the Union address in January.
Environmentalists expect the measures to fall far short of what is needed, but say this does not matter. “The very fact that Bush would reverse his position will liberate many Republicans to vote for meaningful pollution cuts,” says Phil Clapp, president of the National Environmental Trust.
Naturally, I have no idea if this is true, and even if it is true I have no idea if Bush will propose any genuinely effective measures. In the worst case, it will end up being an effort to bring “federal standards” into this arena in order to water down more aggressive state efforts like the one recently approved in California. In the best case, Bush has genuinely gotten religion on this issue.
But it’s a provocative rumor. I thought you’d all be interested.
