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Pressed by the Congress and the courts, President Bush
finally announced this week that he would lay out the principles for a bill to
combat global warming.
The target of Mr. Bush’s plan is to stop the growth of the
nation’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.
Until now, Bush refused taking any measures like those
proposed in the 1997 Kyoto treaty, declaring he was against proposals that hurt
the U.S. economy. But he has now decided to conceive a suitable plan, that
doesn’t oppose his political strategy and won’t be too costly to consumers or
industry.
Last June, before an important international summit focused
on environmental problems, Bush suggested that the United States together with
a dozen other nations that produce 85% of the greenhouse gas emission should
start a campaign to limit the emissions and reduce them. The goals were
supposed to be established at the end of Bush’s term.
The nations participating in the summit are due to meet in
Paris on Thursday and Friday, and Bush’s new plan is supposed to prove the U.S.
has made efforts in this direction.
The president plans to use technology as a major factor in
achieving the environmental goal. One option would be to reduce reliance on
gasoline by developing cars with hydrogen-fueled engines.
In the same time, the Endangered Species Act is to give
polar bears special protection because of their icy habitat that is currently
melting at an alarming rate.
The Clean Air Act could also be used to force the Environmental
Protection Agency to take more severe measures for limiting the production of
carbon dioxide, a gas that greatly contributes to global warming, as scientists
say.
All three presidential candidates – Democratic Senators Barack
Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton and Republican Senator John McCain – are in
favor of a more dynamic program against global warming. They all support
obligatory limits on greenhouse gases.
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