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There has been a lot of hype about the USA not signing the Kyoto Protocol. For not signing, the United States was accused of not caring about the environment, when just the opposite was true. Repeatedly, the USA has met or exceeded Kyoto standards.

There is a clear reason why the USA should avoid Kyoto and anything similar, because they want to hold the USA to a higher standard, while letting countries like China do as they please. To have fair global trade the world needs equal treatment of all countries. Right now manufacturing is streaming out of the US because of the strict environmental and safety laws forced on American companies. The USA still manages to compete in some areas, but these are shrinking rapidly.

Lets look at this rationally. Global warming is the issue. It doesn't matter if you believe in it on any level. What is important is that we all agree that we need to control pollution and keep it within reasonable limits. With anything, the focus should be on making rational, sensible decisions. When there is a level playing field, you will have more willing participants. You don't even have to debate global warming to come to terms on this. I think, in fact, we do need some global environmental agreements.

Right now in the USA we restrict offshore drilling in areas where just a few miles away China is drilling off the coast of Cuba. The Environmentalist in the USA and Europe are crippling those nations, while those like China, that do not have the same restrictions, are prospering.

It's easy to make feel good decisions on the environment. All things done in moderation usually succeed better than any of the extreme alternatives; global warming is no different. The Bali conference would not have ended in failure had they sought moderation.

It is hard to take people serious when they sent millions of tons of carbon into the air going to Bali. In today's world video conferencing is just too easy and would have set a good precedent for future meetings. The average American is more willing to make sacrifices when they see the affluent doing the same thing. Forget carbon offsets and let's level the playing field around the world. Lets have fair trade and environmental policies.

If we give science time to come up with solutions, we will be much better off than putting government in control. Throughout time its been proven over and over again that government is never the solution for anything. We should have faith in the consumer to do the right thing at the right time. Since the seventies the USA has come a long way in pollution control. This aspect is no different; the American people will do what is right if given the chance and shown cause, not political rhetoric.

Learn more about this author, Tammy Crain.
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