Wednesday, May 31, 2017

COTW: Life Without Paris?

They achieved the nearly impossible in Paris, after a decade or more of effort: delegates from 186 nations agreed to do something significant about global warming. That incredible accord among 186 sovereign nations will now be put into jeopardy by one misguided man: Donald Trump. This chart shows what he will throw away:

INDCs are the national contributions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the agreement.  They are intended for review every five years and ratcheted upward to achieve a livable climate that may avoid most of the catastrophic effects of unchecked emissions. Donald Trump says "NOT" to all of that, despite being advised by his closest team members, businesses, investors and national allies to abide by the agreement.

A reactionary cabal of conservative senators led by Mitch McConnell who represents coal mining interests in Kentucky are pursuing a radical course against global agreement in a naked, immoral and destructive pursuit of profit at the expense of the planet. These deceitful politicians, handmaidens of Mammon, repeatedly pointed out China as the stumbling block to US participation in a global agreement. They cannot do that anymore because China signed the Paris accord. Blaming China was simply a smoke screen for their own entrenched opposition to saving the planet from a dystopian future.  They would rather line their pockets and those of their military-industrial-financial complex masters than do something about the gravest threat the United States faces in the 21st century and beyond. What boggles US Person's mind more than the duplicity of politicians* is that a majority of 'Mericans swallowed the toxic cool-aide dispensed by Trump during his campaign under the nonsensical rubric of 'making America great again'. In just over 120 days in office he has not made America great, but a rogue outsider among the community of nations.

*The extent of DC politicians' perfidy is epitomized by this historic nugget from the depths of the Cold War. President Eisenhower's Democratic critics accused him of allowing a "bomber gap" with the Soviets to develop during the 1950's. Later, the alleged lapse in defense policy was modified to suit presidential candidate Senator John Kennedy's purposes into a "missile gap". What was the actual factual basis for all these deadly "gaps"? In 1955 the Russians put on their usual May Day parade of military assets. A squadron of strategic jet bombers flew over Red Square as part of the show. Since the Russians only had ten of these bombers, their flyers were directed to circle around Moscow and pass in review several times to give observers the impression of a much larger jet bomber force on display. Always ready to ignore reality if it advances their political agendas, American war mongers accused fiscally conservative Eisenhower, the commanding general of victory in Europe, of being soft on the commies! The fact was that at the time the United States' nuclear arsenal was both larger and more advanced than the Soviet Union's. America has been at war in Afghanistan for fifteen years at the cost of billions of dollars, not to mention thousands of American lives. It still cannot assure the safety of Kabul's streets. Does it really want to, or is perpetual war the object?