Merkel Presses U.S. on Climate Change Deal
German Chancellor Angela Merkel marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall Tuesday in a speech to Congress, exhorting the world to "overcome the walls of the 21st Century" and reach a deal to combat global warming.
Frequently interrupted by robust applause, Merkel reiterated her country's commitment to fostering security in Afghanistan and also said that a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran "is not acceptable."
In the first address by a German chancellor to Congress since Konrad Adenauer in 1957, Merkel put special emphasis on the need for a global agreement on climate change — one she said she hoped could be forged at an international conference next month in Copenhagen.
"We have no time to lose," she declared. Merkel said she recognized that no deal could be successful without the support of China and India — but that if a deal were struck, she said she was sure those two fast-growing economies could be persuaded to sign on.
Merkel met at the White House with President Barack Obama before her speech to the joint session of Congress; Obama shares her support for a strong international agreement on global warming, although considerable skepticism lingers in Congress.
And, whereas at other times in her speech she received full standing ovations, when she mentioned the climate change deal only part of her audience rose to applaud.
Merkel vividly recounted the life she led as a child in a subjugated East Germany, the daughter of a Protestant minister and a teacher. She said she was thrilled to speak directly to American political leaders.
Speaking through a translator, Merkel said she "personally shall never, ever forget" Germany's friendship with the United States. She told lawmakers that "in my wildest dreams, I would not have thought this possible." Merkel said it was "beyond my imagination even to travel to the United States, much less stand before you one day."
While noting that next Monday is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Merkel called for Europe and the United States to join forces to help "overcome the walls of the 21st century."
"We should be able to overcome this wall separating the present from the future," she said of those seeking to delay or block a climate change agreement. "Global challenges can only be met by international cooperation," she said.
She cited as clear proof of global warming icebergs that are melting in the Arctic, African people forced to flee their homelands because of drought and the rise in global sea levels.
On Iran's nuclear program, Merkel said that allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons, especially with a leader that denies the Holocaust, is "nonnegotiable, not now or never."
The Obama administration has called on Germany to agree to stiffer economic sanctions against Iran if Tehran does not permit international restrictions on its nuclear activities.
She said Germany agreed that it was important "to meet this threat head on ... if necessary, through tough economic sanctions."
On the subject of Afghanistan, Merkel said Germany will "travel this road together, every step of the way" with the United States. While Washington has indicated it would like to see Germany and other partners in Afghanistan increase their forces, the war is highly unpopular in Germany.
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Frequently interrupted by robust applause, Merkel reiterated her country's commitment to fostering security in Afghanistan and also said that a nuclear bomb in the hands of Iran "is not acceptable."
In the first address by a German chancellor to Congress since Konrad Adenauer in 1957, Merkel put special emphasis on the need for a global agreement on climate change — one she said she hoped could be forged at an international conference next month in Copenhagen.
"We have no time to lose," she declared. Merkel said she recognized that no deal could be successful without the support of China and India — but that if a deal were struck, she said she was sure those two fast-growing economies could be persuaded to sign on.
Merkel met at the White House with President Barack Obama before her speech to the joint session of Congress; Obama shares her support for a strong international agreement on global warming, although considerable skepticism lingers in Congress.
And, whereas at other times in her speech she received full standing ovations, when she mentioned the climate change deal only part of her audience rose to applaud.
Merkel vividly recounted the life she led as a child in a subjugated East Germany, the daughter of a Protestant minister and a teacher. She said she was thrilled to speak directly to American political leaders.
Speaking through a translator, Merkel said she "personally shall never, ever forget" Germany's friendship with the United States. She told lawmakers that "in my wildest dreams, I would not have thought this possible." Merkel said it was "beyond my imagination even to travel to the United States, much less stand before you one day."
While noting that next Monday is the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Merkel called for Europe and the United States to join forces to help "overcome the walls of the 21st century."
"We should be able to overcome this wall separating the present from the future," she said of those seeking to delay or block a climate change agreement. "Global challenges can only be met by international cooperation," she said.
She cited as clear proof of global warming icebergs that are melting in the Arctic, African people forced to flee their homelands because of drought and the rise in global sea levels.
On Iran's nuclear program, Merkel said that allowing Iran to have nuclear weapons, especially with a leader that denies the Holocaust, is "nonnegotiable, not now or never."
The Obama administration has called on Germany to agree to stiffer economic sanctions against Iran if Tehran does not permit international restrictions on its nuclear activities.
She said Germany agreed that it was important "to meet this threat head on ... if necessary, through tough economic sanctions."
On the subject of Afghanistan, Merkel said Germany will "travel this road together, every step of the way" with the United States. While Washington has indicated it would like to see Germany and other partners in Afghanistan increase their forces, the war is highly unpopular in Germany.
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In the centuries to come, should we have to face such a dilemma, we would have the wisdom and knowledge to combat such a crisis...I mean, I hope that they don't come at us with suggestions about increasing the consumption of fossil fuels and cow farts and what ever...ya know.
Volkswagen produces a line of the highest MPG cars in the world and is producing a 200 MPG car that is NOT a hybrid. The Jetta Diesel gets higher mileage than the Prius and will eat the Prius up in performance and luxury.
FORDS made in Germany are way superior to US FORDS and they get twice the mileage and performance.
Ford has already sold 500,000 new Fiestas in Europe which is why they have a profit of a billion dollars but the Fietas are still not available in the US. You would have thought they would have introduced the Fiestas in the US at the same time.
Meanwhile, American car companies continue to produce gigantic gas guzzler SUV's and huge cars and they wonder why sales are still down while VW is now extremely profitable.
One day the oil companies and Wall Street will not control American car companies (and the Republicans in Congress) but before then they will probably all be out of business.
My next car will be German especially since VW announced they will be building a new factory in the US.
First, this 'deal' is NOT...I say, NOT...in the interest of the U.S.A.!
Second, since when has Congress allowed itself to be 'pushed around' by Merkel? This is the U.S., not Germany! She should be 'selling it' to her own people, not providing Congress with an excuse to support it!
Third, whether Al Gore lost or got beat in a previous election...is irrelevant! What IS relevant...IS, in my opinion, he is nothing more than a 'hired gun' of the globalists who are trying to get the political leadership to commit to policies that will ultimately ruin this country!
Al Gore may or may not be considered an 'expert' on environmental issues...depending on your point of view. But, he's DEAD WRONG when he asserts that global warming is primarily a result of factory and car exhaust...it is NOT!
His explanation does NOT explain or account for the fact that all the other planets in our solar system are warming up, too! Obviously, something(s) else are going on!
Perhaps, it's additional radiation from that brown dwarf star that coming this way and is clearly seen as a 'second sun' alongside our sun in the sky in the southern hemisphere?!
In any event, the deal's bad and Gore is wrong, and WE...as a nation...should NOT commit to the Climate Change deal!
The climate signal from human caused greenhouse gas emissions is clearly visible in many different measurement records. This is additional to natural climate cycles which have been clearly identified, and versions of which do occur on other planets.
The question is not whether or not the effects of human-caused climate change a real, it's simply whether or not we want to do anything about it....
The sources of causation YOU cite are INSUFFICIENT to be RESPONSIBLE for the effects that are RESULTING!
Which means, there ARE other causes...which have been identified, but not acknowledged, or those that haven't been identified, yet!
In any event, Gore and supporters...are WRONG!
And YOU are WRONG on BOTH YOUR QUESTIONS, too! It isn't a question of whether the effects are real OR whether we want to do anything about them...THE question is: WHAT cause or causes are behind it...and to what degree?! Because...until you know this...smart guy...any action you take may not be sufficient as a solution OR worse yet...may only escalate the problem!
ONCE you know this...then necessity will probably FORCE mankind to take action...because mankind rarely takes the initiate in matters such as these!
by anti-global3:
"F--k the future, my family has done quite well over the last few centuries. Why should I share that with anyone else?
It's a world of limited resources, you need to grab what you can while you can."
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I repeat......how utterly arrogant and ignorant, but just what I've come to expect from conservitards that want to use and abuse all of our natural resources as quickly and as greedily as possible, spewing as much pollution into our air and water as possible that affects all of us.
You're also probably one of those lazy slobs that litters all over too!
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Probably shot that crying Indian too.
I love the blatant lies and lies of omission spouted on a regular basis by world leaders. The fact is the planet stopped warming around 1998.
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Pfft, the planet didn't stop warming in 1998. Heck, I woke up this morning and it was 68 degrees outside. By 3 P.M. it was 80 degrees. It sure felt like it got warmer.
(Hey, nonsense for nonsense. What do you expect for free?)
We should reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for many reasons beyond climate change...
I guess we in the US will feel good about ourselves while the planet cooks. We can feel superior to those other counties & say "It wasn't us, it was those guys!" We all cook just the same.
Jul 8, 2009 ... China Sets 15% Renewable Energy Target, Ups Ante on U.S. ... solar and other renewable energy sources by 2020, the state-run China Daily reports. .... ?Today we feel that we can produce between one and two liters [of ...
www.celsias.com/.../china-15-renewable-energy-target-ups-ante-us/
"Al Gore, champion of the fight was defeated by George Bush."
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Hardly.....Gore won by over 500,000 votes, and just because the right-leaning SCOTUS selected dubya before allowing FL to legally recount their ballots as per state law, the republican't coup stole the W.H.
BTW, just to prove how ignorant you are about the truth, China has already agreed to produce 15% RENEWABLE ENERGY by 2020. Facing pressure from abroad over the pace of China's emissions growth, President Hu Jintao used a speech to the United Nations last week to stress his country's commitment to tackling climate change.
He said China will lower energy intensity as the country grows, while raising output of renewable energy and nuclear power. China aims to cut carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product by a "notable margin" by 2020, Mr Hu said.
"Put Americans first, we are brighter and better and deserve to keep all that is ours and was our ancestors."
"Other nations have no right to enjoy the fruits of the labors of our ancestors."
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WOW!......How utterly arrogant and ignorant, but only what I've come to expect out of the mouths of highly-partisan constipated conservitards still living in the past, circa 1950's, when we should be moving forward with a VISION FOR THE FUTURE!
"F--k the future, my family has done quite well over the last few centuries. Why should I share that with anyone else?
It's a world of limited resources, you need to grab what you can while you can."
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I repeat......how utterly arrogant and ignorant, but just what I've come to expect from conservitards that want to use and abuse all of our natural resources as quickly and as greedily as possible, spewing as much pollution into our air and water as possible that affects all of us.
You're also probably one of those lazy slobs that litters all over too!
"The fact is the planet stopped warming around 1998. We have been cooling since. Last year was in fact one of the coldest on record..."
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HA!...HA!...HA!...HA!...HA!...HA!...ROTFLMFAO!!!!!!!
You DENIALISTS continue to fight science in your highly-partisan parallel universe, and continue to spew the same API propaganda! You FAUX NoNooz and Drudge junkies are just too gullible for your own good, and only look very ignorant spewing their moronic propaganda!
Statisticians: "Global Cooling" a Myth
Claims about Last 10 Years Are Deceptive; Temperatures Rise and Fall, But Overall Trend Is Higher
(AP) Have you heard that the world is now cooling instead of warming? You may have seen some news reports on the Internet or heard about it from a provocative new book.
Only one problem: It's not true, according to an analysis of the numbers done by several independent statisticians for The Associated Press.
The case that the Earth might be cooling partly stems from recent weather. Last year was cooler than previous years. It's been a while since the super-hot years of 1998 and 2005. So is this a longer climate trend or just weather's normal ups and downs?
In a blind test, the AP gave temperature data to four independent statisticians and asked them to look for trends, without telling them what the numbers represented. The experts found no true temperature declines over time.
Since 1998, temperatures have dipped, soared, fallen again and are now rising once more. Records kept by the British meteorological office and satellite data used by climate skeptics still show 1998 as the hottest year. However, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA show 2005 has topped 1998. Published peer-reviewed scientific research generally cites temperatures measured by ground sensors, which are from NOAA, NASA and the British, more than the satellite data.
The recent Internet chatter about cooling led NOAA's climate data center to re-examine its temperature data. It found no cooling trend.
"The last 10 years are the warmest 10-year period of the modern record," said NOAA climate monitoring chief Deke Arndt. "Even if you analyze the trend during that 10 years, the trend is actually positive, which means warming."
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Of the 10 hottest years recorded by NOAA, eight have occurred since 2000, and after this year it will be nine because this year is on track to be the sixth-warmest on record.
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