Humilty Fuels A Cleaner Rap For U.S.

The moderate-conservative commentator, on global warming: "No matter which party takes the White House next year, the next administration will be faced with a serious problem made even more serious because there is no country that can rein in China and India, both of which have refused to abide by agreed-upon environmental reforms. China and India believe that the West built all of its economic strength on environmentally dangerous materials such as oil, but now that Asia is bringing leaves to the big table of power to make it wide enough to seat China and India, the West wants to tell Asian countries that they should slow down and reconsider which fuels to use and which ones not to use. Those who have suffered colonial exploitation are not quick to listen to former colonizers.

This is where the very highest level of closed door diplomacy should make itself felt. By threatening to reduce the number of foreign cars purchased unless they are both high quality and environmentally safe, China alone could force the automobile makers of the world to take oil off of the table. Combined with India, it would be an economic slam dunk in which it would be more profitable to be environmentally safe than to trot along behind slogans of the industrial revolution. That is the sort of leadership we need from Washington, the sort that can inspire enlightened and self-protective policies from the Asian powers that we will have to deal with at almost every turn in this new century.....While China or India or both would take the credit for leading the nations of this planet away from the polluting of the air, in the final analysis our world might be protected a bit better from poisonous but addictive consumption."