Gore: U.S. Blocking Progress On Climate

White House "Principally Responsible" For Obstruction; Europeans May Boycott U.S.-Led Talks

(CBS/AP)  Al Gore said Thursday the United States is "principally responsible" for blocking progress in battling climate change at the U.N. climate conference.

Anger toward the Bush administration for resisting measures that would create mandatory targets for reductions in greenhouse gases was rife at the conference, where one official described the U.S. delegation as a "wrecking ball."

European nations are even threatening a boycott of U.S.-led climate talks next month unless Washington compromises on emissions reductions.

The United Nations warned that time was running out for an agreement aimed at launching negotiations for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol and the talks in Bali were in danger of "falling to pieces."

Concurrent with the conference was an announcement by NASA scientists that the rate of melting of Arctic ice, both in the sea and land-bound, was proceeding at a faster pace than expected. "The Arctic is screaming," said Mark Serreze, senior scientist at the government's snow and ice data center in Boulder, Colo.

In urging delegates to take immediate action to cut down on emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, Gore laid the blame for the lack of action so far squarely on the current U.S. administration.

"My own country, the United States, is principally responsible for obstructing progress here in Bali," said Gore, who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for helping alert the world to the danger of climate change.

He asked delegates Thursday not to get angry, but to work toward a world which will soon have a new American president.

"Over the next two years, the United States is going to be somewhere it is not now," said Gore, who flew to the Bali meeting after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway on Monday.

"One year and 40 days from today, there will be a new inauguration in the United States," he said, speaking in a conference hall and by video to delegates throughout the conference site.

"I must tell you candidly that I cannot promise that the person who is elected will have the position I expect they will have, but I can tell you I believe it is quite likely."

He noted that the U.S. Congress is moving legislation forward to impose binding emissions caps in the United States for the first time - legislation that, if passed, would likely be vetoed by Mr. Bush.

Gore told the delegates, from almost 190 nations, they have two choices here.

"You can feel anger and frustration and direct it at the United States of America, or you can make a second choice. You can decide to move forward and do all of the difficult work that needs to be done."

Gore, who helped in the final negotiation of the Kyoto pact in 1997, also called for implementing a successor agreement to Kyoto two years early, in 2010. The first implementation period of the Kyoto pact expires at the end of 2012.

"We can't afford to wait another five years," he said.

This morning, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino rejected comments by Gore who blamed the Bush administration for blocking progress, saying that the U.S. is not the only country that has concerns about setting a specific emission reduction target, reports CBS News White House correspondent Peter Maer.

Nations Threaten Boycott Over U.S. Position

As U.N. talks entered their final hours, European nations on Thursday threatened to boycott a U.S.-led climate meeting next month unless Washington agrees to a deal mentioning numerical targets for deep reductions in global warming gases.

The United States, Japan, Russia and several other governments refuse to accept language in a draft document suggesting that industrialized nations consider cutting emissions by 25 percent to 40 percent by 2020, saying specific targets would limit the scope of future talks.

The European Union and others say the figures reflect the measures scientists say are needed to rein in global warming and head off predictions of rising sea levels, worsening floods and droughts, and the extinction of plant and animal species.

"No result in Bali means no Major Economies Meeting," said Sigmar Gabriel, top EU environment official from Germany, referring to a series of separate climate talks initiated by U.S. President George W. Bush in September.

"This is the clear position of the EU. I do not know what we should talk about if there is no target."

Brazil's Climate Change Ambassador Sergio Barbosa Serra said his government was not threatening a boycott, but would take any omission of numerical targets "into account" when it decides whether to attend the Major Economies Meeting.

The U.S. invited 16 other major economies to that Washington meeting, including European countries, Japan, China and India, to discuss a program of what it expects would be nationally determined, voluntary cutbacks in greenhouse gas emissions.

Those meetings were criticized for shunning mandatory reductions in favor of each nation setting voluntary goals towards a still-to-be-defined future goal.

The White House said European threats to boycott next month's U.S.-led climate change meeting are "not constructive," reports Maer. Press Secretary Dana Perino also noted that a boycott is not the "official position" of the European Union.

Environmentalists accuse the U.S. of trying to undermine the U.N. process, which since Kyoto has focused on internationally binding targets. Many delegates here believe no such international action is possible until the Bush administration leaves the White House.

But U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said he was worried the U.S.-EU deadlock could derail the process and that a final "Bali roadmap" would contain an agreement to negotiate a new climate deal by 2009, but may not include specific targets for emission reductions.

"I'm very concerned about the pace of things," he said. "If we don't get wording on the future, then the whole house of cards falls to pieces."

The United States delegation said while it continues to reject inclusion of specific emission cut targets, it hopes eventually to reach an agreement that is "environmentally effective" and "economically sustainable."

The United States is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the only major industrial country to have rejected Kyoto, which expires in 2012. It has been on the defensive since the conference kicked off on Dec. 3.

[cyberus-2009]

Gore needs to get a grip, all these so called "reduction" treaties are so unbalanced they, IMHO, allow some nations to pollute without restrictions while hamstringing others .. a great excuse to ship more jobs to countries without restrictions. To make it even worse, lets say US, Russia, and China all signed on, the only country that is open enough to verify compliance is the US, China would simply not allow outsiders to see the places that pollute, just like they don''t let people see the prison factories and child labor.

[forthepeopl1]

the us and china and china being the biggest needs to do something now..

and to start, we dont do buisness with china.period..

[glb1969]

I am glad we have Al Gore, because if we didn''t we would have absolutely no one who has not been corrputed, censored, or bought out by big business and the republicans. Al Gore is the closest thing we have to a national hero and should be rewarded appropriately as he continues to root out those who actively seek to destroy our planet, and supports and leads the rest of us as we strive to undo the damage we have already done to the environment. Go AL Gore!

[co2max]

It is important that everyone read Algore''s Nobel Prize acceptance lecture. It is linked in-full from an accompanying article on cbsnews.com. His words will tell you exactly what his scheme is.

He quotes George Orwell, but does not cite the facts that the words used were from Big Brother that we should cast off what we now till now to be true. The only truth is that which we create now. These are the tactics which allowed previous despots to win over the masses, only to lead them to ruin, worldwide scorn and derision for all eternity. This time, let us who know better stand in the way and prevent this Environmental neo-Mariist totalitarian social-engineering campaign from getting the upper hand. If we recognized this nonsense for what it is: control of the masses--not a program to save the world, help the poor or to preserve the environment--we can assure ourselves of a future that is worth living.

Please read the lecture. If possible to include, the URL is: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/10/world/main3597588.shtml

[locke10]

Y''all stop being political for one minute! The earth is dying while we argue and nothing you are doing is making it any better. We as Americans are the biggest culprits, and that is due to exactly what''s going on here. Stop skirting the issue!

[rf35]

X-LEGION-X. Gore loves this country...it''s the administration currently running it that he hates. I feel that if anyone should be accused of treason, it''s Bush and Co. They have done more damage to this country than any president in my lifetime, possibly in the nation''s history. It''s not just the environment, either. The administration is ruining the economy...my bank account has never been emptier than in the last 6 years. The Iraq war and the GWOT have been going on far longer than necessary with little to no REAL progress. I''ve been in Iraq and can tell you we''re spinning our tires there. America has become more hated than any other time in history. This just serves to emphasize that. We need a leader that will restore America as a leader in the world, not a stumbling block. A little cooperation is all that is asked for. Sure, China and India need to be held to the same standard, but how can we expect them to comply if we don''t set the example? This policy is nothing be a weak excuse offered to Bush''s sheep while he continues to line his and his friends pockets at the expense of the average citizens of this country. If that''s not treason, I don''t know what is.

[chitown639]

Those of you who seem to be closed-minded to greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, causing Global Warming. You seem to be under the influence of the Limbaugh and Hannity crowd, with their hate-filled propaganda. You have no logical reasons for your opposition against improving air quality and the environment. The best reason you have for explaining your opposition is that Al Gore played a small role in bringing Global Warming to our attention. You fail to understand that this isnt'' about Al Gore. It''s the environment....STUPID

[afmca]

I think John McCain (isn''t he a conservative Repub)said it best .. Global warming is real - do we know everything about the cause - No .... but if it is real then doing the right thing NOW saves the planet; if it is not real then we leave our children and grandchildren a better, healthier environment. Doing something now - irregardless - is a win-win for all.

[afmca]

I have also noticed that the more someone takes a stance against our dictator-in-chief the more the hate filled propaganda machine cranks up. I still see mindless rants against Jimmy Carter and their all-time foe, Bill Clinton. There seems to be absolutely no acknowledgement that for the last 7 years Bush / Cheney has been in charge and that for the first 6 years they had a docile Repub Congress and Supreme Court and still they screwed everything up. Will there ever come a time when a Repub will be held accountable for their actions or are the lemmings to ignorant to grasp reality.

[co2max]

rf35 - I get the impression that, if our enemies and supposed enemies grow to distrust or even hate us, then we should feel the same way too. Go ahead, sell us out, side with those who wish to destroy and cast us aside. These nations in the UN have no interest in keeping us around. They use the global warming game as a leveraging tool not only to wield world distrust against us, but to influence American opinion against this country. It is very disappointing that the American public does not demonstrate enough intelligence or critical thinking to see though this nonsense.
Global warming is not the same thing as polluting the environment. They are as different as night is from day. We do need to clean up the environement and keep it clean, but the focus on climate is shifting all the attention and resources away from what is really important.

[hillaryin08]

I dont know about you guys but Algore is going to make me allot of money wit this global warming scare

[micma-2009]

The National Academy of Sciences surveyed EVERY peer-reviewed, published, climate change study done in the last TEN years. Without exception, they ALL agreed on three fundamental FACTS:


1. Global warming is real and happening now.

2. Global warming is caused by man.

3. The consequences of global warming are catastrophic for all life on this planet.


The SCIENTIFIC debate ended long ago. The POLITICAL debate rages on fueled by millions of dollars from the fossil fuels industries. Meanwhile the PROBLEM is getting irreversibly worse.


The time for DENIAL is over. The time for ACTION is now if we want to save the planet.

[hillaryin08]

Never going to happen liberal. We will adapt and survive without Algore and your new religion.

In the mean time, the evil corporations will make billions off of this scare.

[hillaryin08]

The problem with Algore is that he snapped after America regeted him and Socialism in 2000. In tru liberal fation, he needs to make us all feel guilty in order to make himself feel better.

Personally, I think he got more traction trying to find man-bear-pig

[co2max]

What the UN fools must appreciate is that the US is not blocking action on global warming. This country is showing leadership by showing disdain for the fruitless, useless and meaningless fight against a natural phenomenon. We can stand alone if we have to, resist the temptation to conform. For that I admire what this country stands for. The United States invented modern democracy and showed the rest of the world how to run a proper country. We''re doing it again now but being resolute in this issue. We are not causing this supposed problem and not even the rampaging former vice president can goad us into this idiotic frenzy.

[j-whitman]

tiddsanbeer,,,, Following Bush --- Elmer Fudd or Charley Manson could get elected President

[scottyusa]

It is really nice that Al Gore gave all the other countries permission to direct their anger and frustration on the United States of America. To him and all his lemmings there is no more discussion. They are right and thats it. There is no other side of the story. I have not seen him address the 9 items in his fairytale movie that have been deemed incorrect. To bash his own country in front of the world puts him right up there with the dixie chicks. I believe global warming is happeneing. I also believe it is a natural phenomenon we are not going to reverse. Intead we should be preparing for it. I am already building a rocket ship and looking for another planet to move to. I call it the "Ark".

[rohink-2009]

Shut up Al Gore!!!!!!
It''s all the United States fault. What a moron. What about Japan, Russia? What about the fact that the new Australian Prime Minister said one of his first orders of business would be to sign the kyoto treaty, now has decided otherwise. You know why, because they can''t possible reach the standards so they will be heavily fined. Which means more taxes for the citizens which means a weaker economy. That is what this is all about. One big money making scheme. Go to the Daily Kos, you can buy carbon credits for the whole family. They make wonderful Christmas gifts.

[macusweil]

"It''''s all the United States fault. "

It is the US failure of leadership that matters most!!

Thanks to Bush & co the US has lost the high ground on major global issues. We no longer lead on climate change, but also global economic policy, human rights & torture, and the war on terror.

I''m voting for Ron Paul in the Feb 5th NYS GOP primary.

Under sound leadership this country will be back on the course of freedom, liberty & prosperity for all out citizens. America will once again be the land of the free & home of the brave where the true patriots are those who question the government not those who blindly follow.

We can all get behind Dr. Paul and his plan for fiscal responsibility that will return the dollar to its rightful place among the global currencies. The US will move forward again as the greatest free nation on earth.

[rohink-2009]

Y''''all stop being political for one minute! The earth is dying while we argue and nothing you are doing is making it any better. We as Americans are the biggest culprits, and that is due to exactly what''''s going on here. Stop skirting the issue!

Posted by locke10

The earth is not dying. It is changing which it has done since the dawn of time. How can you people relegate Human beings as so insignificant in one breathe (Shout out to all you Environmentalist that put all else above humans) To being soley responsible for global warming? Some countries already are suggesting a tax be levied on couples that give birth to babies because they are a mere pollutant. Just exhaling causes global warming. Those that fall for this are being had. Just like I was when young and donated to Green Peace regularly.

[jowand]

ZERO factual evidence that C02 is causing global warming, it''s actually getting colder at the poles, check out the links.

COOL PICTURES SHOWING ICE IS THICKER
http://www.iceagenow.com/Growing_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet.htm

ARTIC WATER REFEEZING AT A RECORD PACE
http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/arctic-sea-ice-47121205

[hillaryin08]

The earth is not dying you moron

[oscarez]

The Arctic is screaming, Al you the man!!!

Has anyone seen or heard from Bush Baby in the last few days? Has he died or what?

[hillaryin08]

Algore has commited himself to this because of his failure as a leader and rejection by the American people. Call it Enviro-Facisam. His big chace to stick it to the man who stuck it to him.

[oscarez]

rohink ... Huckabee says global warming can''t be real because the earth is only 6000 years old.

[jowand]

The Arctic is screaming, Al you the man!!!

Has anyone seen or heard from Bush Baby in the last few days? Has he died or what?
Posted by Oscarez at 03:56 PM : Dec 13, 2007

ARTIC WATER REFEEZING AT A RECORD PACE
http://www.thedailygreen.com/envir
onmental-news/latest/arctic-sea-ice-4712
1205

[jowand]

rohink ... Huckabee says global warming can''''t be real because the earth is only 6000 years old.
Posted by Oscarez at 03:59 PM : Dec 13, 2007

Maybe Big Al invented the earth too???

[mediapreachr]

Has anyone told al bore to go f... himself lately...Pardon my pun...
When middle aged men go into midlife crisis they get a new mistress or a sports car.But with tipper wearing the pants in that family the only thing left is to play Mahatma Gandhi for the planet.

[ajmarine1]

But with tipper wearing the pants in that family the only thing left is to play Mahatma Gandhi for the planet.

Posted by mediapreachr at 04:04 PM : Dec 13, 2007


Two years after beginning a campaign against sexually explicit and violent lyrics on record albums, Tipper Gore has moderated her tone but expanded her scope to include music videos, television programming and video cassettes.

She and her husband, Senator Albert Gore Jr., Democrat of Tennessee, met with members of the recording industry in Los Angeles in late October to discuss her record-labeling campaign. Few of the meeting''s participants expected to find common ground.

While Mrs. Gore said the meeting was ''''a chance to clear the air,'''' she said she was under no illusion that it would change the opinion of industry officials, some of whom have said her campaign is tantamount to censorship.


http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6DF173DF937A35752C0A96E948260



They tried to save us from music too.

[marcodele]

Huckabee doesn''t believe in global warming because there''s nothing in the bible about it.

[hillaryin08]

Algore the Enviro-Marxist

[co2max]

In the end, what matters is this:
Science will win.
Algore will lose.
The Earth will go on.
Most of us will have paid needless taxes.
The United States will be a ward-state of the United Nations.

[idlepugilist]

CO2max, like hillaryin08, you provide a stunning, intelligent rebuttal to Gore: denial. I''ll bet you can stop baldness by saying it won''t happen. Of course the earth will still be here, but there''s no saying your fragile body will be able to accomdate the environmental changes. I doubt very much the earth cares. Nobody really wanted to believe you wear clothing made in sweatshops by children, either.

[denn034]

More America bashing from a Democrat is expected. In the end, the hole in the earth''s atmosphere is shrinking and that proves global warming is declining. Gore is an overblowing blowhard.

[co2max]

IdlePugilist - Your idea is difficult to decifer through your odd reasoning, but you are correct in stating that the Earth cares. Of course it doesn''t. In fact I would say that the geologic record shows that Mother Nature is a real Bitcx. Several time, in collusion with the cosmos, she has tried to wipe us and our predecessors off the map. Luckily, she hasn''t been successful. All the more evidence that we are not destroying the Earth.

[jowand]

CO2max, like hillaryin08, you provide a stunning, intelligent rebuttal to Gore: denial. I''''ll bet you can stop baldness by saying it won''''t happen. Of course the earth will still be here, but there''''s no saying your fragile body will be able to accomdate the environmental changes. I doubt very much the earth cares. Nobody really wanted to believe you wear clothing made in sweatshops by children, either.
Posted by IdlePugilist at 04:47 PM : Dec 13, 2007

ZERO factual evidence that C02 is causing global warming, it''''s actually getting colder at the poles, check out the links.

COOL PICTURES SHOWING ICE IS THICKER
http://www.iceagenow.com/Growin
g_Antarctic_Ice_Sheet.htm

ARTIC WATER REFEEZING AT A RECORD PACE
http://www.thedailygreen.com/envir
onmental-news/latest/arctic-sea-ice-4712
1205

[co2max]

jowand - That''s quite interesting. The view of the lift crane and the power pole becoming engulfed in thickening ice over the past 20+ years is quite astonishing. Not bad for a frozen desert.

[walt1944-2009]

The Great Emperor Bush II is unconcerned about Al Gore''s claims that the government of the USSA is blocking attempts to clean up the air we all breathe.

The Great Emperor could care less about ice caps melting, polar bears and penguins drowning, and sea levels rising, just so long as those things do not affect the profit levels of big business companies and his own personal stock portfolio. After all, greed and profit are what drive the Fascist neocon agenda and those items must be protected at all times.

Besides, armed with the advice of such great "scientists" as Professor Micheal Savage, Doctor Bill O''Reilly, and Professor Rush Limbaugh, together with the "inspired" words of the Reverand Anne Coulter, the Great Emperor is convinced there is nothing to worry about, that the planet is in great shape, and is setting his sights on the Red Planet so he can screw Mars up!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!

[oscarez]

You don''t have to worry about how high the sea levels rise if you live at or above 500 feet MSL, That is as long as the central part of the United States does not become a desert.

[ibzjem]

You two have got to be kidding us. Have you read the links you provide to the Daily Green? Of course ice is growing be cause it''s becoming winter! Duh!! But it is less this year than last. If you read the article you would have seen it say "but has yet to recover fully from a record summer melt"

The other site is questionable. Ice might be thickening in spots, but it has been shown that it is shrinking in overall size and it''s moving. I would not trust a fly-by-night site such as this. Not one reference to any other article or report.

Come back when you understand the global warming or climate change process.

[ibzjem]

You two have got to be kidding us. Have you read the links you provide to the Daily Green? Of course ice is growing be cause it''s becoming winter! Duh!! But it is less this year than last. If you read the article you would have seen it say "but has yet to recover fully from a record summer melt"

The other site is questionable. Ice might be thickening in spots, but it has been shown that it is shrinking in overall size and it''s moving. I would not trust a fly-by-night site such as this. Not one reference to any other article or report.

Come back when you understand the global warming or climate change process.

[stevex47]

How goes the spin tonite right wingers?

You know we''re going to raise your taxes a billion percent to cover these costs right? ha

[mcvet]

More America bashing from a Democrat is expected. In the end, the hole in the earth''''s atmosphere is shrinking and that proves global warming is declining. Gore is an overblowing blowhard.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by denn034 at 04:49 PM : Dec 13, 2007
+ report abuse

ROFLMAO Well SURE folks.. Bush and the Fascist have been so right on this and so much for so long!! ROFLMAO It only took Sir Lies-A-Lot 7 YEARS to finally admit that Gobal Warming ACTUALLY existed and YOU want people to listen to you clowns?? ROFLMAO I hardly think a fascist is someone to be listening to about anything these days... Sieg Heil Bush!!

[arj4031]

Steve, you might want to at least learn the difference between the separate but related issues of global climate change and stratospheric ozone depletion. See #24 at Understandit.org

As for cost, several studies have indicated that this thing can still be tacked relatively inexpensively compared to the costs and consequences of allowing it to accelerate further.

[arj4031]

Correction - My previous comment is to MCVet, not Steve:

[ubrew12]

arj4031 said: "several studies have indicated that [warming] can still be tackled relatively inexpensively compared to the costs and consequences of allowing it to accelerate further."
For example, just planting more trees in the tropics and dumping crop wastes into the oceans would do wonders. But you won''t hear the denyers crowd talking solutions. They''re more into whining about ''liberal conspiracies''.

[ubrew12]

jowand said: "ZERO factual evidence that C02 is causing global warming, its actually getting colder at the poles, check out the links: http://www.iceagenow.com/Growin"

Didn''t I kick your a*s on this the other night? So many deniers, so little time...

Read it (again) and weep, Bushie. Its from NASA, so if you don''t believe they took us to the moon, you may just get a laugh out of it:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2006/greenland_slide.html

[hawksprings]

OK, let me get this straight...

All these delegates and Algore flew from all over the world, spewing the CO2 of 20,000 freakin'' cars, to attend a conference in Bali where some of them had to watch Algore''s drivel ON VIDEO??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If Global Warming is sooo dire, sooo urgent, sooo deadly, soooo in need of immediate action RIGHT NOW, why in the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks didn''t they ALL STAY HOME AND DO THE WHOLE THING ON VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Instead they do a feel-good conference in a remote corner of the Earth where some of them have to watch it on video because the place couldn''t accomodate them all, so they can bash the US while they created more CO2 than 20,000 cars???????

Can''t you Global Warming Sheep see how insane this is?????

[erasmus6]

"Can''''t you Global Warming Sheep see how insane this is?????" posted by hawksprings

There is nothing insane about it. You can expect in the beginning that they are going to have to get together to form some kind of plan to get things going. Eventually once everyone knows what that plan is then they will not need to get together anymore. So in the beginning, sure they will be contributing to the problem, but that won''t be forever.

[erasmus6]

"Have you lost your f*cking mind? We''''ve been a plague ever since we evolved into the a-holes we are today. Go take a swim the next time a tanker loses it''''s cargo. We''''re nothing more than a virus as we rape this planet for all we can get. " posted by matvei1107

See, here is a person that sees things for the way they are. This person isn''t living in lala land. When a person can stand back and take a good look at themselves and see things for the way they are, I believe they are then half way to solving the problem. Of course this is only one of the very few people in the U.S. that actually isn''t living in denial so I am afraid the U.S. has a long way to go before there is any hope of them fixing any problems they have.


How embarrassing for the American people to have such a loser as president. I don''t know how he can sleep at night knowing that he is going to go down in history as being the worst president of the United States that there ever was.