By Ghassan Karam, Special to Ya Libnan
As the world, at least most of the countries in the world, express concern and even regret over the failure of the Conference at Copenhagen to come to a meaningful conclusion the Saudi Arabian chief negotiator at the talks expressed Saudi Arabia’s glee and satisfaction that the Copenhagen Conference failed to take any positive steps towards meeting the most important challenge that civilization has ever met. Mr. Mohammad Al-Sabban went further as to predict that the world seems to be heading towards a stalemate on the question of anthropomorphic global warming, AGW. Mr. Al-Sabban proceeded on an interview on the BBC to predict that the action on climate change will become similar to that on the Doha round of the WTO. The WTO members have been engaged in negotiations for the past ten years with no resolution in sight.
It is shameful that a country takes pride in the fact that it is not likely for the world community to make any progress on the climate change issue for at least the next ten years and furthermore Saudi Arabia is proud of its record on AGW because it was essentially the work of a China-Sudan-Saudi Arabia cabal that sank the Copenhagen Conference. Saudi Arabia’s obstructionist role in Copenhagen earned it the moniker the” most likely villain in the awkward squad”.
When the world was initially presented with the problem of AGW, many countries, institutions , scientists and individuals were skeptical until the world scientific community has practically united in adopting the view that human activities are the culprit behind climate change. It has been estimated by the scientific community that any change greater than 2 degrees Celsius will have profound global catastrophic implications that range from disease , to storms, higher ocean levels, food shortages and extinction of specie. The fact that human civilization has become a major evolutionary force can be seen in numerous scientific studies.
The Proceeding of the National Academy of Science concluded that “ Since 2000, a growing global economy, an increase in the carbon emissions required to produce each unit of economic activity, and a decreasing efficiency of carbon sinks on land and in oceans have combined to produce the most rapid 7-year increase in atmospheric CO2 since the beginning of continuous atmospheric monitoring in 1959. This is also the most rapid increase since the beginning of the industrial revolution.”
And the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, has also said that :” Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observation of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level. Observational evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that major natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly temperature increases.”
In light of all the scientific evidence from all over the world that climate change is a fact , that its effects will be dramatic, that it is our duty and obligation to try to mitigate it Saudi Arabia is glad that we are not planning any action. But that position is to be expected. Would we expect the drug pusher to support measures designed to decrease drug usage? Of course not. To allow Saudi Arabia and China to have a major say in how to deal with global warming is similar to the proverbial image of putting the fox in charge of the hen house.
This observor is convinced beyond the shadow of any doubt that Saudi Arabia will not spare any opportunity to ensure that the price of crude is never high enough as to justify the use of a major renewable technology. Why should it when it has massive reserves. Let the rest of the world eat bisquits. Unfortunately what Saudi Arabia fails to consider is that when the roof crumbles, it will spare no one. I am not sure that Saudi Arabia and possibly all other major exporters of fossil fuels should have a say in what is to be done in order to implement strong steps that are bound to create major withdrawal symptoms but that are necessary if the addict is to be given a chance to overcome the addiction. Saudi Arabia and all the other 25 countries in its camp have prevented the global community from making any progress towards rehabilitation and sustainability by insisting that the world is flat. Such a position is demonstrably evil and unethical. But that fact that the global community allowed the “Awkward squad” to carry the day is a powerful statement about our lack of resolve. Shame on all of us.
To listen to a Podcast of the above: ramblings11.mypodcast.com
How many tons of C02 does Saudi Arabia produce a year?
Thousands and Tons of bombs have and still being dropped on our beloved earth. How much gas emmissions did these produce in the past ten years?? not to mention the biological weapons full of uranium dropped on south Lebanon and other parts in the region. not to mention also the numerous nuclear experiments carried out in the oceans. hmmm let’s look for the real culprit here
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has oil and not much gas, the Sultanate of Oman has gas and not much oil.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has a problem with this whole thing,
Sultanate of Oman is OK with this whole thing. Wonder why?
At the bottom of this page
http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/about/history/
From the Climate Research Units own web site you will find a partial list of companies that fund the CRU.
It includes:
British Petroleum, ‘Oil, LNG’
Broom’s Barn Sugar Beet Research Centre, ‘Food to Ethanol’
The United States Department of Energy, ‘Nuclear’
Irish Electricity Supply Board. ‘LNG, Nuclear’
UK Nirex Ltd. ‘Nuclear’
Sultanate of Oman, ‘LNG’
Shell Oil, ‘Oil, LNG’
Tate and Lyle. ‘Food to Ethanol’
Nuclear Installations Inspectorate, ‘Nuclear’
KFA Germany, ‘Nuclear’
You might what to check out what these and the other funding companies actually do. Hint they do not do coal.
This is all about making Nuclear Power, Liquefied Natural Gas and Food to Ethanol more cost competitive.
They have been paying for the research and getting the results that they have paid for, the results that you accept, and drive you to demand low CO2 products. They have the products you now want so desperately, and they are ready to deliver.
The raw data, the computer models and the methods used by the CRU have not been released, only the results. The CRU does not do science; they are in the anti-CO2 business.
I do not see a difference between this and Merck, their ‘researchers’ and Vioxx, the government and ‘thousands and thousands’ of doctors believed them, as did a lot of people.
It is business, it is capitalism.
It was never about the environment.
Science Fiction from the Climate Research Unit.
The CRU is has not been practicing the scientific method for almost two decades. The scientific method requires that the researcher publish all the original data, models and procedures needed for a skeptical analysis of any of their work. Since they are not using the scientific method then they simply are not doing science, they are writing fiction.
Ponds and Fleishman may have been wrong about cold fusion, but they were at least real scientists. They did their experiments, published the results and their data, procedures and description of the apparatus and the methods. They where shown to be in error, fine, but they were still scientific in their work. The outputs from the CRU are in comparison junk, so I ask, why are these fictional ‘research’ papers allowed to remain in the realm of scientific publications? Why do people continue to quote the CRU as if they were the work of Albert Einstein rather than the work of Mark Twain?
Dalal,
Saudi Arabia produces almost 400 million metric tons each year which is the equivalent of 13.5 metric tons per capita. That is enough to place it among the large producers on a per capita basis.
But that has nothing to do with my post. Absolutely nothing. The scientific evidence about climate change and its catastrophic effects is well documented and non controversial.
This means that we ; the human race; have a challenge to take major steps to prevent a calamity in the making. If we do not then there is no one to blame but ourselves.
Saudi Arabia has become one of the leader of the camps of denial . They are glad that the world will not take any action simply because if we do then civilization will have to develop a clean form of renewable energy as a replacement for the fossil fuels that are plentiful in Saudi Arabia. That is not only selfish but also short sighted since nature does not recognize political boundaries.
Surely the Saudis are not the only state in the obstructionist group but sadly it is one of the leaders because of its inherent interest in maintaining the current dependence on fossil fuel.
Of course wars and military armaments are to be discouraged since they are not an efficient use of resources. One of the most important principles of Georgescu Roegens’ bioeconomic society is to ban not only wars but also war materiel.
yeh thanx.. understood.. I swear politics economics and world problems figures and statistics are giving me headache..are there any current affairs issues or stories from Lebanon on this website?
Hi Guys, The Industrial Revolution in the 19th century saw the large-scale use of fossil fuels for industrial activities.
These industries created jobs and over the years, people moved from rural areas to the cities. This trend is continuing even today. More and more land that was covered with vegetation has been cleared to make houses. Natural resources are being used extensively for construction, industries, transport, and consumption. Consumerism our increasing want for material things has increased by leaps and bounds, creating mountains of waste. Also, our population has increased to an incredible extent.
All this has contributed to a rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
According to Alex Callinicos, the United Nations climate change conference that was held last month in Copenhagen was an enormous betrayel of the hopes that had been placed in the summit.
Nevertheless, Copenhagen exposed very clearly the main obstacle to addressing global warming. Despite the evident danger of catastrophic climate change, individual states are reluctant to take on burden of cutting emissions. Instead they seek to displace the costs involved onto their rivals.
Finally, the author Alex Callinicos argues that this isn’t much of a “new world order”. Really addressing Climate Change will require a determined challenge to the competitive logic of capitalism.
By the way for Dalal and others. If you want to know some of the effects of Climate Change in Lebanon. Then I recommend visiting http://www.SkiLeb.com there you will see Ski Lebanon Mzaar through webcam and compare it with previous years. After viewing the pictures you will be somehow convinced that the Climate Change has becoming a global phenomenon.
Yes of course Sebouh it’s a global issue and people are feeling the change in the weather everywhere.. and its scary. but unfortunately its THE BIG PEOPLE BUSINESS unfortunately an average helpless civilian takes whatever thrown at him … no use pointing fingers at anybody its all politics of the green dollar.
Dalal, Saudi Arabia produces more CO2 than you might think: 381.5 mmt/y in 2007, placing it 15th on the list of CO2 emissions by country. Unlike several countries ahead of it on the list, Saudi’s emissions have been growing in recent years along with its domestic consumption of oil and gas.
Well you said it Wilson the 15th on the list ..I know for sure industrial countries produce the most of CO2 emissions. Let’s at least point fingers at the first five .. we must not be biased..we must speak the truth and not be afraid for the sake of our human race
Dalal,
I thought that we settled this issue yesterday!!!!
This isn’t about how much Saudi Arabia emits; although it does emit a lot. This is about its role in making sure an agreement was not reached and being glad about the fact that the worl will not take any action. Saudi Arabia does not want hybrid auto engines to become the norm and they do not want the world to move in a meaningful way towards clean renewable alternatives. They will do all what is in their power to torpedo any agreements and they will flood the market with oil if they have to in order to prevent the prices from going up to the point where alternatives become feasible.
In a sense all of this is academic. There is ample evidence that it is too late to slow down the climate change and that it is too late to avoid going over the abyss. That is so because not enough of us are willing to pay the price for keeping climate change under control. Definitely Saudi Arabia has no interest in paying its fair share. They actually had the temerity to ask for huge payments from the developed world had the original plan to cut down on emissions ben approved. Saudi Arabia wants the world to pay it subsidies!!!!
Saudi Arabia is no different to other countries which will make every endeavour to protect its interests and resources, and their pockets…and honestly Ghassan no one gives a crap about the climate ..it’s all propaganda and waste of time.
This message is to Dalal and other respected viewers.
I strongly believe that the Human made Climate Change challenge cannot drastically be confronted under the current Profit and Loss business mentality.
Big business and Capitalism will always put their profits before any other consideration,even the future of our planet.
What is needed is a wakeup call to the public and informing them about this reality. Therefore, I think we will never reach a consensus under the current Profit and Loss mentality, becuase each country or state is after their own interest not with long term needs of the whole humanity. This is the turth. If I had spoken otherwise then I would be lying to the viewers and to myself.
Sebouh/Dalal
As you can see from the last post by Dalal, she does not think that climate change is a worthwhile issue. To her the world is flat and all this talk about the greatest challenge in the history of civilization makes no sense. That is a shame that all the work by all the scientists all over the world for decades can be dismmissed as nonsense.
Sebouh, you are both right and wrong on the issue of capitalism and climate change. This is not the right venue for a lengthy discussion so I will try to be very brief. You are confusing sustainability with climate change, I think. There is no doubt whatsoever that Capitalism is not sustainable. (Ultimately, if you are to be a believer in entropy, nothing is). But there is nothing to suggest that capitalism cannot resolve the climate change issue. You see, if the climate change is resolved that solves only one problem, It does not transform the system to a sustainable one. Climate change is not reversible on the human time scale and so the best that we can do is to stablize the emissions so that the concentrations will eventually go down . Can we theoretically stablize the emissions under capitalism? Of course we can. Just slap a large enough tax on carbon. The trick is to agree to impose such a tax in a world made up of 200 sovereign states where each is tryingh to profit at the expense of the other. That is not due to capitalism that is due to what Dworkin called “the selfish gene” and even that can be overcome through global governance. That is why against all sorts of odds there was a slight, a very slight chance, that the world would finally do the right thing at Copoenhagen. Unfortunately we did not. As I said before some of the best scientists in the world believe that it is too late to contain the temp. change to the 4 degrees that most thing is the tipping point. I personally think that is true but even then that is not an excuse to live like a drunken sailor as if there is no tomorrow. Humans are part of nature, we are embedded in the web of life and the more damage that we cause to the natural system then the weaker are the chances of survival for our own specie.
Yes Ghassan unfortunately to me it’s all talks and highlighted media summits by world powers to convince the masses of populations around the world thay’re trying hard to improve the outlook of the climate for the future..while mind you the US controls the production of oil in Saudi Arabia and the gulf and wars are raged across the globe with tons and tons of bombs filtring our earth to the core nuclear, biological weapons plus the huge arms industry that god only knows what materials used ..etc…and you tell me I should give this issue more weight..as the lebanese say ” they kill the man and attend to his funeral”
Dalal,
Yes I am telling you that environmentalisn transcends politics because ecological degradation is a threat to existence. It does require a completely differenr way of looking at things, it requires a radical paradigm shift that could potentially be the end of history. Are we capable of making the transformation? I am not sure but I tend to be very pessimistic .
Dala,
Your comments are laughable to put it mildly. I’m surprised you get this much patience from everyone else on this thread.
Why don’t you do everyone else a favour and go read something useful? Get enlightened perhaps for a change? No one is interested in your ignorant babble.
Ghassan I understand what you’re trying to say is ‘ if we cant stop the causes of destruction , we must at least try keeping the problems under control’…yes?? But I beleieve we must steer our energy towards raising people’s awareness to stop and hold responsible the major powers of the world who are causing most harm to our planet and as a result threatning our very existence..it sounds like the environmentalists cant do much about resolving this issue so they tend to warn of the consequences and advise of measures to take to prolong our end a bit further..:(. Unless we pull out the roots of this disasterous problem, it will keep on growing and spreading till the fatal end.. the end of mankind and the new world order..or should I say ‘The Grave Order’..Ohh may be we cant even be buried,rather floating in space or dissolved..God only knows I swear..may god forbid..:)
well John dont read my comments or ‘babble’ and why does it bother you.. you dont like it go away..
JOHN It is interesting to have discussion with open mind and hear different comment and point of views with respect to one another.You speak for you self and not every one Else.You are ridiculous and disrespectful with your comment to Dalal .She is intitle of her opinion as well as anyone Else.So get of her back.You are no better.Another word (buzz of,get Los )
Nazih hehe dont worry about this John I think my comments provoking him. I know many ill mannered people like him whom I dont give a crap about..
I also believe hes using reverse psychology I bet he cant wait to read what I write..lol
The ” Man Made Global Warming” scandal called Climategate exposed the fact that the CRU fabricated data, harrassed and threatened scientists who opposed AGW, lied, persecuted scientists and invented the man made global warming myth. All for the sake of $$$$, the implementation of a Carbon tax, a tax on the main building block of all molecules on this planet. CO2 is plant food, more CO2 means more plants more life. 30 000 scientists agree, and petitioned this (google 30 000 scientist sue Al Gore). The sun and not mankind is the main reason why Global Warming and cooling happens. The other planets in our solar system’s ice caps were melting at the same time as earths , not because of our carbon emissions but because of solar cycles. AGW is a fabricated myth, used to de-industrialize nations so that the Global Government can be established. Maurice Strong, the Rothschilds,NAzi Prince Bernhard (founder of WWF) all openly admit this. AGW is also a way for the billionaire elite to depopulate the planet.
The CRU and the IPCC are all currently implicated in fraud. The IPCC shuns, ignores and bans any scientific evidence disproving their AGW hoax.
EVERYONE PLEASE GOOLE CLIMATEGATE. HERE IN CANADA OUR NATIONAL NEWS EVEN REPORTED ON THIS. THE CRU EMAILS WERE LEAKED PROVING THAT AGW WAS A LIE!!!!!!!!!
GOOLE 30 000 SCIENTISTS PETITION GLOBAL WARMING
GOOGLE CHRISTOPHER MONCKTON !!!!
http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/monckton/goreerrors.html