NHNE News List
Current Members: 1345
Subscribe/unsubscribe/archive info at the bottom of this message.

NHNE Spring Summer 2005 Fundraiser:
Money needed = $4944.00
Donations to date = $311.00
Number of people who have helped = 6
Funds still needed = $4633.00
To make a tax-deductible donation:
NHNE Website: http://tinyurl.com/8su4u
PayPal: http://tinyurl.com/7jyub
eMail: nhne@...
Phone: (928) 282-6120
Fax: (815) 642-0117
Mail: NHNE, P.O. Box 2242, Sedona, AZ 86339
Credit Cards: Please include number, expiration date, phone number.
Your donations are tax-deductible. Thank you!

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

READER COMMENT:

"Enjoy having an interesting alternative to conventional news." -- Mr.
Braddlee

-----------

NEW US MOVE TO SPOIL CLIMATE ACCORD
By Mark Townsend in New York
The Observer
Sunday, June 19, 2005

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,5219225-102275,00.html

Extraordinary efforts by the White House to scupper Britain's attempts to
tackle global warming have been revealed in leaked US government documents
obtained by The Observer.

These papers -- part of the Bush administration's submission to the G8
action plan for Gleneagles next month -- show how the United States, over
the past two months, has been secretly undermining Tony Blair's proposals to
tackle climate change.

The documents obtained by The Observer represent an attempt by the Bush
administration to undermine completely the science of climate change and
show that the US position has hardened during the G8 negotiations. They also
reveal that the White House has withdrawn from a crucial United Nations
commitment to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions.

The documents show that Washington officials:

- Removed all reference to the fact that climate change is a 'serious threat
to human health and to ecosystems';

- Deleted any suggestion that global warming has already started;

- Expunged any suggestion that human activity was to blame for climate
change.

Among the sentences removed was the following: 'Unless urgent action is
taken, there will be a growing risk of adverse effects on economic
development, human health and the natural environment, and of irreversible
long-term changes to our climate and oceans.'

Another section erased by the White House adds: 'Our world is warming.
Climate change is a serious threat that has the potential to affect every
part of the globe. And we know that ... mankind's activities are
contributing to this warming. This is an issue we must address urgently.'

The government's chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, has dismissed the
leaking of draft communiques on the grounds that 'there is everything to
play for at Gleneagles.' However, there is no doubt that many UK officials
have become exasperated by the Bush administration's refusal to accept the
basic principle that climate change is happening now and is due to man's
activities.

Earlier this month, the senior science academies of the G8 nations,
including the US National Academy of Science, issued a statement saying that
evidence of climate change was clear enough to compel their leaders to take
action. 'There is now strong evidence that significant global warming is
occurring,' they said.

It is now clear that this advice has been completely ignored by Bush and his
advisers. 'Every year, it (local air pollution) causes millions of premature
deaths, and suffering to millions more through respiratory disease,' reads
another statement removed by Washington.

Washington also appears to be unsympathetic towards the plight of Africa,
the other priority singled out by Blair for the G8 Summit in Gleneagles.

The documents reveal how the Bush administration has pulled out of financial
pledges to fund a network of regional climate centres throughout Africa
which were designed to monitor the unfolding impact of global warming.

'Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Arctic are particularly vulnerable to climate
variability and are starting to experience the impacts,' reads another
excerpt rejected by the US.

Other crucial schemes ditched by the US include the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) set up to help developing states develop economically while
controlling greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the documents, the American government has reneged on plans to
'ensure that the CDM executive board is adequately funded by the end of
2005.'

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

NHNE News List:

To subscribe, send a message to:
nhnenews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe, send a message to:
nhnenews-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

To review current posts:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nhnenews/messages

Published by David Sunfellow
NewHeavenNewEarth (NHNE)
eMail: nhne@...
NHNE Website: http://www.nhne.com/
Phone: (928) 282-6120
Fax: (815) 642-0117

Appreciate what we are doing?
You can say so with a tax-deductible donation:
http://www.nhne.com/main/donations.html

P.O. Box 2242
Sedona, AZ 86339