It would be good news were it not so bad: India, usually considered a threat to U.S. dominance in science, has turned its back on climate science and instead, citing junk science claims, rejected overtures to reduce pollution that affects climate. India appears to have fallen victim to the hoaxters who claim climate change is no big deal.
From the Financial Times:
A split between rich and poor nations in the run-up to climate-change talks widened on Thursday.
India rejected key scientific findings on global warming, while the European Union called for more action by developing states on greenhouse gas emissions.
Jairam Ramesh, the Indian environment minister, accused the developed world of needlessly raising alarm over melting Himalayan glaciers.
He dismissed scientists’ predictions that Himalayan glaciers might disappear within 40 years as a result of global warming.
“We have to get out of the preconceived notion, which is based on western media, and invest our scientific research and other capacities to study Himalayan atmosphere,” he said.
As if the atmosphere of the Himalayan range is unaffected by emissions from Europe or Asia. As if the glaciers in the Himalayas, and the snowfall, and the water to India’s great rivers, come independent from the rest of the world.
Deadly air pollution obscures the India Gate, New Delhi, India, November 2008 - NowPublic.com
It’s interesting to see these issues play out politically. India and China both understand that the U.S. and Europe have much more to lose from climate change than either of those nations. Climate damage to the U.S. wheat belt, for example, would chiefly close off U.S. production of wheat for export, opening markets for others — like India and China. Critically, such damage also hurts U.S. ability to offset balance of payments issues, providing economic and finance advantages to China’s banks. U.S. ports are much more vulnerable to climate change damage, from increase storms and changing ocean levels, than are ports in India and China — and there are more ports that are vulnerable in the U.S. and Europe.
India’s inaction and recalcitrance should not be used as justification for the U.S. to do nothing, thereby slitting its own patriotic throat.
But watch: Climate denialist blogs, “hate-America-first” outlets like World Net Daily, and Osama bin Laden will hail India’s inaction.
Let’s hope cooler heads prevail, lest we run out of cooler heads.
Shake of the old scrub brush to Brown Hell and Watt’s Up With That.
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Millard Fillmore's Bathtub 
Ed,
The Earth is still flat, regardless of the evidence, and is held up by Atlas.
You should know these things like the rest of us.
signed,
Capricorn One
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Yeah, I think it’s a good offer, is there anything behind this?
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I suspect you’re right, John.
But in any case, this news is not good news, and does not merit the dancing on the grave of the U.S. going on at Steven Milloy’s and Anthony Watts’ blogs.
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I would be careful about ascribing the comparative motivations to India or China.
Specifically, while USA and Europe may have more to lose, because we have more, I’m not sure port count is a good metric.
I would observe that if one ignores Alaska, which has a huge coastline, but very few people living there:
USA (lower-48) coastline < India coastline < China coastline, and like the USA, both of the latter have some of their major cities on the coast.
I've been in Mumbai, HongKong, Shanghai, and they won't be pretty. HongKong at least is hilly.
Likewise, I'm not overly worried about China and India doing big grain exports to the world, but I would worry whether or not they'll be able to feed their own people.
I suspect this is more negotiating-positioning and usual political short-termism than anything else.
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Cap and trade pollution limitations have been in effect for several years now. Why are the ill effects you claim not occurring, but instead the air gets cleaner? How do you explain that?
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Sorry to hear about your blindness.
Your imagination well exceeds the real moral depravity of the U.S.
People once said Los Angeles could not be cleaned up without ruining the economy. Turns out it was banks that ruined the economy, not clean air. People said the Hudson River could not be cleaned without making New York City a ghost town.
Indians need clean air and water, too. They deserve it, and shame on you for denying it to them.
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Hey pal, Climate change is a hoax.
If it was not you would not have to resort to your “denialist” name calling, you could rely on real science. “Junk Science”? You are projecting, it is “warmists” such as yourself who are relying on junk science (not to mention an naive and unsuspecting public), a common affliction of collectivists.
The Indian’s are doing the right thing. Do you think that they are fools? What nonsense. You really think that you know better than the government of India? Too funny. The Democrats, who merely want to control the middle class (they hate prosperity, freedom and liberty for all but themselves and their clients) and bilk the taxpayer out of more money (they are parasites who cannot productively earn their own way) have not yet corrupted the Indian media, Indian academia, or the Indian political system like they have here. The Indians just laugh at idiots like Hillary. They would be overjoyed if we destroyed our economy over this nonsense.
Cap and trade will result in America becoming a poorer country, perhaps poorer than all the BRIC countries. The Democrats would love that. It will do absolutely nothing about “Climate Change”. How preposterous of you to think that mankind can control the climate or the weather. This more than anything else demonstrates just how detached from reality.
People like you, ten years from now, will look rather foolish when history exposes this fraud for what it is. If it immerserates the country, you will look worse than foolish, you will look traitorous.
But I imagine that decent Americans will chuck Obama and company soon and roll back this climate change hustles soon enough.
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