It's called leadership, what Obama did in Copenhagen.

I agree. Getting China to permit emissions monitoring is a major accomplishment. When is the last time we forced China to do anything?

Yes James. What Obama got out of that meeting was probably the best possible outcome. It was not everything that was needed, but it was probably the best he could do with the hand he was dealt.

In reality, it is time for China to stop ducking the international leadership role that now fits them. It is absurd for them to spend 30 years struggling to become the economic powerhouse of the planet, then posturing at being a "developing country". The problem is that they don't desire to be "statesmen." A statesman has to sometimes be willing to forego a benefit in order to contribute to the greater good. China has ducked that responsibility, along with the responsibility of allowing greater human rights at home.

David K, when you read this, please forgive the negativity that I expressed earlier about Copenhagen. As I say, the glass is not half full, but at least it is not completely empty.

Yes, I agree Chris. At least it was SOMETHING!!

Copenhagen failed because the science behind man-made global warming is biased, unproven and sloppy. Whether you think man causes global warming or not, can we all agree that the United States needs to convene its own objective, transparent Climate Truth Commission and stop outsourcing our climate science to the United Nations? It defies common sense that we allow the UN to serve as both judge and advocate (IPCC & Kyoto Protocol, Copenhagen).

-- Robert Moen, www.energyplanUSA.com

And your Climatology Ph.D. is from WHICH university?

Chuck, what are credentials, really? Oh, right, they give credence... good point!

You might be interested in my latest health care post and the discussion. Best wishes.

I hope Robert gets zillions of dollars from the coal companies to compensate him for looking so ignernt

we have another hundred or two years to clean up our act

"a hundred or two years"-
yeah, two years.

It's a start...am hoping that at the 'leader of country' level he can get more cooperation than he is at home, though I am sorry to say I don't hold out much hope of that. At least he spoke up--too many are shuffling around in their own little worlds refusing to see anyone else's point of view, which is not very productive when we all have this common problem to solve.

If ever there was a time for the global community to learn to pull together, it is now.

I agree about pulling together, Linda. We need to take what we got and run with it rather than the opposite, which is to circle the wagons and start shooting inward, at each other.

Obama does well with difficult circumstances.

I think so too, Peter. Isn't it possible to argue that a president who gets break even out of a losing hand is as good as a president who achieves great things with a winning hand?
Okay, it is too early to talk about legacy, I guess.

Leadership?

Any anticipated display of leadership from Obama in Copenhagen was non existent. Obama said, "The time for talk is over." This from a guy who thinks the world is governed by the dramatic use of speeches, and his booming rhetoric. A guy who can do nothing but "talk" in a magnanimous voice, as long as he has a teleprompter ... reminding him of what was written for him to say. He disappointed in Copenhagen, on several counts (aside from Hillary's 100 billion.)

Then, in Copenhagen, Hugo Chavez said he smelled sulfur in the room just after Obama's speech !!!!

The main man, Obama, went and forget to apologize for the United States, as he has in most every other foreign country visit where he had a speech and a teleprompter. Thus,disappointing the crowd. They wanted to hear him say how he was going to attack the U.S. capitalistic system. Even Obama is realizing the magic that was once Obama's appearance and speeches is gone, as audiences all over the world realize they have been hoaxed by Obama, who he is, and the whole issue of the reality of climate change. It is not leadership to go abroad and knock down your own country.

Climate Control is a serious issue and deserves serious consideration and recognizing and dealing with "ALL" the facts ... including those that have been brought forth by "Climate Gate." "Climate Gate," a string of hacked private e-mails between global climate change scientists in the U.S. and Europe, casting doubts on the very science of which this summit is based, reports CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier.

The e-mails show some of the world's top experts decided to exclude or manipulate some research that didn't help prove global warming exists.

In Copenhagen, Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Chavez of Venezuela, Silva of Brazil, all, indicated there is a trifecta of failure by Barack Obama. He failed to get the Olympics to Chicago. His Asian trip was a failure, and another failure in Copenhagen. To add injury to insult, a whopping 47% of Americans do not agree with Obama's health care plan. A fourth and further insult is that almost half of Americans do not agree with Obama's concept of the climate control hoax," according to a Harris Poll in November. Finally, 47% of Americans disapprove of Obama's job performance since he took office. That's the highest for any president at this point in a presidency. Gallup poll, Dec, 07.


This may be a strong signal that Obama and his gang are giving up on achieving any grand accord on their supposed climate change issue for this year. It's a stinging vote of no confidence in Obama in Copenhagen—and a sign that the Obama gang believe they cannot steer the nations of the world their way and are looking for a Plan B. Watch for it.

Al Gores’ movie about global warming supposedly explained what "his" scare was about. But that whole premise has been proven wrong, and it still did not stop Gore and his ilk; because they have billions of dollars in personal investments on anti-warming devices. Again....follow the money! So, instead they just changed the name, because it was never about global warming.

To repeat, In November, 2009, a Harris Poll showed that almost half of Americans do not believe the climate control hoax as it is currently being portrayed.

....which means that more than half of all americans still believe in science, despite the fact that the denial squad (which has HUNDREDS of billions, if not trilions, invested in fossil fuels, it should be noted) is peddling unrealistic fear of higher electricity bills and socialism.

No, it does not mean that more than half of all Americans still believe in the Climate control hoax.

There were other percentage allowances for those who had no opinion, etc, etc.

I apologize, but I'm not understanding what socialism, higher electricity bills, fossil fuel investments has to do with the subject at hand, since ff's,etc, investing, are age old, and have no relation to a current hoax of scare tactics. Electric bills fluctuate for a myriad of reasons, none having anything to do with the current hoax.

the notion put forward by the denial squad, sophie, is that Cap and Trade, if passed, will result in higher electricity costs for americans as limits are placed on coal fired electricity plants and more solar, wind, and nuclear plants are built to take their places. The notion is that this is a bad thing that will bankrupt (inaccurate) our nation.

If you do not understand what fossil fuels have to do with climate change, I suggest you read more widely.

Chris,

I never said I didn't understand the "weight" of the subject of fossil fuels in this whole scenario and this leaves me uncertain about who should read more widely.

The President, while campaigning, said costs would effectively “bankrupt” the coal industry. Huh?

This is a grossly inflated issue brought about for no other reason than to alarm and frighten, where, accordingly, anyone who has the audacity to flip on a light switch will be forced to pay higher energy bills.

Cap and trade is insane. Why would we add an additional tax to our own energy bill. Why would we? Because there are a few who will be very rich? Or because the United Nations shouts ‘climate crisis’, in concert with Al Gore. The United Nations is a toothless and political organization filled with intrigue and attempted power grabbing. Now the U.N. wants to collect a global tax? Who will monitor and manage this? Fairly.

What folks like Al Gore and fear mongers, et al, are doing is the equivalent of a 16th century magician charging folks to see him blank out the Sun, when he knew an eclipse was coming ...sic....We could stop all man-caused CO2 emissions tomorrow, and little would change. The climate would continue it’s natural cycles, ie warming, cooling, etc... which the fear mongers deny.
Many reputable and learned scientists have concluded that CO2 is not causing global warming, and man's effect on it is small. So, the sky is not really falling tomorrow, but I am sure you would not read any of those who question those motives.

Consider also, the cause of global warming/cooling (and it does both, and has for centuries) is mostly natural since we are still not able to control the sun.

You may have the last word for I am out for the evening.

Of course electricity prices will go up dramatically.
That is the whole point of Cap and Trade.
It is a tax on the supposedly undesirable Carbon Dioxide
released by burning fossil fuels to ggenerate electricity.
If it didn't make electricity more expensive, it would be ineffective.
Only in this way can renewable generation ever hope to compete with Coal.

Others see Cap and trade as a means for transferring wealth
from the poor in the West to the rich in the Developing World.
In Africa foreign aid goes to corrupt dictators, not to the people who need it.
Robert Mugabe, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Isayas Afeworki, Meles Zenawi, Omar al-Bashir, Idriss Deby, Paul Biya, Hosni Mubarak and Teodoro Obiang Nguema are all good examples of the sort of corrupt murdering Dictators that will benefit from Copenhagen hand-outs.

Don't trust me on this - check out these guy's records.
This is what passes for leadership in Africa.

Finally! I'm extremely happy to see that something is being done! Three Cheers for Obama!

What were the Chinese, Indian, and Brazilian leaders having a meeting in secretly in the first place? What's with the secrets? I think Obama did the right thing! Someone is actually taking action, which is what this world needs.

I have figured out how to solve the CO2 problem without a vast new tax and establishing a framework for a new World Government:
Save the World with Carbon Sinks

Carbon emissions are the problem. So instead of fixing the problem by reducing the emissions, you want to continue increasing the emissions, but at the same time try to hide the carbon somewhere. Like growing trees on land that is going to be needed to grow crops for starving people, right?

"Only in this way can renewable generation ever hope to compete with Coal."
Completely wrong.
Wind and solar already make better economic sense in some parts of the world (for example, Hawaii) then coal does. The price of solar per watt is trending down. The price of coal is not. Many scientists and people in industry believe that renewables in time will not only "compete" with fossil fuels, but will actually whip fossil fuels in price terms. The problem, from a climatology standpoint, is that we don't have 30 years to wait for that.