Secretary Clinton, Others Examine Climate Change in Commentaries

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in an op-ed published today by the New York Times, wrote that a successful climate agreement "depends upon a number of core elements, but two are shaping up to be essential: first, that all major economies set forth strong national actions and resolve to implement them; and second, that they agree to a system that enables full transparency and creates confidence that national actions are in fact being implemented. The United States is ready to embrace this path, and we hope that the rest of the world will rally around it this week."

In a second Times op-ed today, Whole Earth founder Stewart Brand outlined the four different versions of climate change beliefs currently being debated. He labeled them denialists, skeptics, warners and calamitists. Washington Post op-ed columnist Anne Applebaum wrote today that a "profound change in the nature of human energy consumption is possible--thanks to the entrepreneurship that created the Internet, the compassion that lies behind the advances in modern medicine and the scientific reasoning that sent men into space. As for nihilism and hatred of humankind, it teaches us nothing, except to give up. And we shouldn't be passing that on to our children either."

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in an editorial, praised climate-change legislation, saying: "Wisconsin and other states and countries are helping to show the way. A united global effort would certainly enhance those efforts. But even if nothing else comes out of Copenhagen, attendees should go home knowing they are not alone in the struggle, and that there are things they and their neighbors can do to reduce the impact of climate change."