WHY IS THE USA BEING CRITICIZED FOR FINALLY GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING?

Before getting into our environment, first a follow-up to my posting yesterday on the coming crisis associated with our Federal debt limit.  I saw this morning an article:

Why the Debt Ceiling Matters and What Happens if Congress Refuses to Raise It

Our $34.1 trillion debt limit will occur tomorrow, January 19.  To quote:

“Failure to meet the government’s obligations would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability,” Yellen wrote in her letter.  The U.S. has never defaulted for failing to raise the debt limit in time, which means the consequences are unpredictable, but economists agree they would be dire.

A second digression, about our pandemic and why that feared new COVID-19 wave this winter has instead become a small bump.  From the New York Times:

Why?

Because the U.S. population has, collectively, built up immunity to the virus. Much of that is thanks to vaccines and boosters. But repeated exposure to the virus and infections have played a significant role, too.

 

Mind you, there are a lot of cases, but most appear to be non-symptomatic.  

• Even those who have taken all five shots, including that bivalent booster, are getting infected.  
• However, the illness is almost always mild or even asymptomatic.  
• Yet, if you haven't yet taken all five vaccinations, you are at a much higher risk of DYING!
• More than 90 percent of deaths are now among Americans 65 and older. Hospitalizations are nearly five times higher among Americans 70 and older than among Americans of all ages.

On the other hand, if you are getting ready for your Omicron booster, you might want to consider Moderna's instead of Pfizer's, for early reports indicate that there might be a link to causing a brain stroke in older adults.  This ischemic (blockage in arteries carrying blood to the brain) stroke tends to occur 21 days after that Pfizer/BioNTech shot.  Nothing conclusive at this point.  Whew, I have had only Moderna vaccinations.

Also from Time magazine:

The Upcoming Lunar New Year Holiday Threatens a Grim COVID Toll in China

How grim?  

• First, China reports almost nothing, for the statistics are beyond grim.  
• For example, the world this past week saw 10,485 deaths.  Officials in China did hint that 12,000 people have weekly died during the past five weeks.
• But, more reliable reports speculate that:

Around 900 million people in China had been infected as of Jan. 11, according to a study by Peking University, amounting to some 64% of the population. Projections for the final death toll range from one million to over two.

How serious is that?  The U.S. has by far the most number of deaths so far with 1.1 million.  #2 is Brazil 0.7 million and #3 India 0.53 million.  31% of Americans are reported to have so far been infected with this disease, and 8% of the world.

Finally from Time magazine about the world protesting America's climate plan:

• After surviving the Trump presidency, the Biden administration went to the UN climate conference in Egypt last year showing a $369 billion dollar spending package called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that put us on a path to eliminate our carbon emissions.

• 
  The world looked at that and began to complain.
• Why doesn't it include funding to help countries most vulnerable to climate change?
• How solid is our plan?  Will Republican return to power and scuttle everything?
• The law seemed to throw some of our closest partners under the bus.
• 
  What was the problem?
• South Korea called the IRA a betrayal.
• The European Union complained of a problematic tax provision.
• Japan said the law would stop its car companies from investing in the U.S.
• India said the IRA was the most protectionist act ever drafted in the world.
• In short, the IRA said to "buy America" and protect the country from foreigners.  The law included subsidies for the production of clean hydrogen, electric vehicles and renewable energy only in the U.S
• So here, after decades of being criticized for cutting emissions and not addressing climate change, we got attacked for doing just that.

This doesn't mean we screwed up.  

• The IRA needed to get approved by Congress, and compromises had to be made.  
• The U.S. now needs to, over time, reconcile differences in climate and trade talks.  
• Biden has already reassured France's Macron during his recent visit that there will be "tweaks" to the law.  

• 
  Our climate envoy, John Kerry, said:  By the time 2030 approaches, folks, we’re going to have made clean technologies much more accessible, much more affordable for the rest of the world.
• The U.S. approach will no doubt force other countries to bolster their own domestic efforts.  Free trade?  Looks like this is being sacrificed.
• But we can work in unison in other ways.

Watch the current World Economic Forum being held in Davos.

• Discussed was a $100 trillion philanthropic plan.
• What to do about the polar crisis?
• How to deal with climate litigation?
• How can this climate emergency be turned into an opportunity for inclusion?
• Read this article for details.

To end today, two from my incoming mail:

And...

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