Should the U.S. sign the Kyoto Protocol? It was supposed to commit nations to solving global warming. But opponents question whether the treaty would even help.

• Author: Hawkins, David
• Position: Opinion - Brief Article

YES Global warming could profoundly affect human health and livelihoods as well as natural ecosystems around the globe. The good news is that we know how to start solving the problem now.

Global warming is caused by the buildup of carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil. Scientists predicted this effect more than 100 years ago, and extensive research by experts all over the world confirms it.

Officials recently pronounced 2001 the second-hottest year on record. Unless the pollution that casues global warming is reduced, temperatures in the U.S. could rise an average of 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit within the next 100 years.

That could have a dramatic impact on the planet: rising seas and coastal flooding; melting glaciers; hotter heat waves; more weather extremes, meaning bigger storms and more droughts; and more wild species pushed to extinction.

In 1997, the U.S. and 170 other countries backed a treaty called the Kyoto Protocol--named for the Japanese city where it was written--requiring industrial countries to reduce their pollution. Poorer countries would work with richer ones to develop solutions too, but would not yet have to cut emissions. The U.S. Senate never ratified the Kyoto agreement. Then last year, President Bush withdrew support, saying it would be bad for the economy.

This is a mistake. The U.S. should sign the Kyoto Protocol, because solving global warming means cleaning up all kinds of pollution and saving energy, which always makes good sense.

Possible solutions include more fuel-efficient cars and pollution-free energy technologies like wind, solar, and fuel cells that would improve our living standard without trashing the environment. This would be good for business since America leads the world in many of these technologies.

Hopefully, the U.S. will rethink the Kyoto Protocol, and rejoin the world effort to solve global warming. In the meantime, Congress is considering bills to improve fuel efficiency and clean up power plants--steps that will start us in the right direction.

--DAVID HAWKINS Natural Resources Defense Council

NO The United States is right to reject the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, because the treaty would be too expensive to implement and there is...