Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5 • Wednesday, June 12, 2002
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S Environmentalists and junk
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TS science fuel Kyoto Protocol
mpics,^
s happen A s any attentive pupil oi the
llion play / \ public education system
iow man; -L jLknows‘humans are the scourge
intries. |°f the Earth. In between stories of
st folio"- butchered baby seals and rain forests
here, and Reared by acid rain, students are
5 of fans indoctrinated to believe humans are
same timt causing global warming. These impressionable chil
is the dren are told the Earth is headed towards a meltdown.
[ Oceans will rise and deserts will flourish, leaving
hen host mankind stranded somewhere between Water World
claim® anc j D une p U bii c school system is merely a
:r one im microcosm of the world today, in which hysteria has
street m dominated logic. The greatest extension of this
° P u |, I gloom and doom is the Kyoto Protocol.
!1 ° er e of ^ le Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty draft-
verag ed wjth the hel p of A1 Gore, by the United Nations in
" es y 1997. The Kyoto Protocol calls for successful nations
'll t total t ^ le wol "ld to restrict their carbon dioxide emissions
umber of |° P r e-1990s levels. The treaty has faced near-100
ed into P erc ent opposition in the U.S. Senate, and with good
ago afto B 63800 - Global warming is junk science.
For proof that global warming lacks credibility,
icthing 0ne must only reflect on the track record of global
fterthe v/arming’s “experts.” Gore gained recognition in the
iwned er >vironmentalist community by writing a paper on
jxactrea how man was causing global cooling. Global cooling
the gf eJ! Wa8 the apocalypse predicted not long ago by today s
global wanning zealots. For years, Americans have
been told Styrofoam and aerosol cans would gouge
is a the ozone layer, leaving everything on the surface of
ism vnif the Earth baked to a crisp. There is a reason why this
fear tactic is not used anymore: the ozone layer has
grown, and life goes on.
Little opposition exists in the scientific community
that Earth’s climate has changed in the past and will
53-yeat change in the future. At the same time, there is little
jrowned evidence that past ice ages or future warming trends
>out the can be linked to human activity. Theories that humans
Could impact the planet’s weather rely on extrapolated
50 mph forecasting and weak reasoning,
ancel the The Kyoto Protocol targets carbon dioxide,
jtes afte f niethane and other “greenhouse” gases as the main
lutes int° culprits behind a supposed warming trend. While
:eer sp°t' human activity is undoubtedly a source ot such mute-
jtionless rials, its contribution to the overall picture is dwarfed
was rest- by that of Mother Nature. Carbon dioxide, while a
)ody was byproduct of manufacturing, is also a byproduct ot
Bramble. decomposition. Studies have shown that more carbon
and r ace dioxide comes from decay in the Amazon Basin alone
>5 indujf 6 than from industrial emissions worldwide. Over a
nnile bikUdecade ago Mount Pinatubo erupted, spewing billions
of tons of green house gases and other pollutants into
the atmosphere. Mt. Pinatubo’s contribution made
decades of human activity pale by com
parison, but environmentalists still cry
wolf.
The logical link to why the planet
may warm lies in the sun itself. Rarely
mentioned in the debate is the fact that
the Earth’s oroit and angle to the sun
changes in cycles that vary over eons.
Defying common sense, U.N. members and a
growing contention of American policy makers favor
the Kyoto Protocol. If enacted, the impact on the U.S.
economy would be devastating. American companies,
burdened with skyrocketing energy and production
costs, would flee to Mexico, China and other develop
ing nations that are not restricted by Kyoto.
Thousands upon thousands of American jobs would
be lost, according to reports done by the respected
Wharton Econometrics Forecasting Associates. Texas,
the petroleum mecca of North America, would be one
of the hardest hit. The Department of Energy has pre
dicted that Kyoto might cause a four percent drop in
the GDP at current levels. Since free-market incen
tives for efficiency are the strongest driving force
behind less consumption of fuels, once restricted
countries would no longer be able to afford to develop
efficient technologies, and third world countries left
unrestricted will continue to pollute.
If something appears questionable about the Kyoto
Protocol, there is good reason. Those opposed to the
treaty include liberal and conservative members of
Congress, Clinton-Gore era white house officials, all
sectors of American business, and the president. Its
strongest supporters have been third world countries,
environmental extremists, the Green Party and
Socialists International. The Green Party’s website
states that Kyoto does not go far enough, and the next
steps should be the eradication of the internal com
bustion engine, an end to nuclear power stations and
no more suburbs. The reason the Kyoto should smell
fishy is that it is simply a socialist ploy to redistribute
the world’s wealth from the United States and other
developed nations to third world countries.
According to the Green Party’s statement on the
Kyoto Treaty, “. . . Kyoto represent(s) a vital juncture
in world affairs where humanity has a real opportuni
ty to avert ecological, human, and economic disaster.”
It could not be stated better. The Kyoto Protocol
would be terrible for Texas, the United States, and the
world. It must never be allowed to go into effect.
Matthew Maddox is a junior
management major.
MATTHEW MADDOX
King for a day
Women should not he prom king
P rom night is the highlight of many students’ high
school careers. For Kristine Lester, the night may not
be so magical. According to MSNBC, Lester, an open
ly gay high school senior, wanted to run for prom king
instead of prom queen. The school principal and school
board refused to allow Lester the opportunity to compete for
king. Encina High School made the best decision in decid
ing not to let a female run for prom king.
Every school and competition has rules that maintain order and organization. If rules do
not exist, events such as a high school prom become chaos. A traditional male and female
prom court is the norm in society. However, some people want to see these rules and laws
amended for them and their specific instance. MSNBC said Lester wanted to run for king
because she identifies more with the male role than the female. However, a competition is
not based on how a candidate feels. It is based on the rules of the competition, in this case
gender. With the many different opinions and ideas individuals have, if every person asks
that the rules change for them, there is little point in establishing rules at all.
Encina High School stands behind the principal’s decision not to allow Lester to run for
prom king. Just because there are students who think differently, and there always will be,
does not mean the whole system should be changed for their satisfaction. There are simply
too many people in this world to please everyone.
In a society where equality is deemed a top priority, the decision to stick to a traditional
inale-female prom court is not limiting any students’ equality. Encina High School’s deci
sion was a logical and fair response to a student’s request. Every student is offered the
same opportunity to run for king or queen, based on their gender. No student is denied the
opportunity to participate; however, there must be guidelines. Although Lester may disap
prove, the guidelines for prom court include gender, placing her into the queen category.
Students may not like how the system operates, but the argument that they are being dis
criminated against does not hold water.
According to MSNBC, Lester had over one hundred students sign a petition for her to
run as prom king. If Lester was set on making the prom court, she could have easily run
for queen. Every gender-related issue can be argued into the ground, but eventually some
one must make the decision that enough is enough. There comes a point when society
tries to make every issue so politically correct that something as simple as a high school
prom becomes compared to a natural disaster. High school students should enjoy the fact
that they have prom, not get caught up in meaningless details.
Lester’s request to run for prom king is not the first of its kind. In our country’s mass
confusion of sexuality, males are trying for female roles and females are running for male
spots. According to Advocate magazine, a similar instance occurred at Ferndale High
School, where a female student ran and won the title of homecoming king. Though it
seemed like an equality victory to some, the Advocate said that even the female king
thought she was elected as a joke.
Encina High School made the best choice by not letting Lester run for prom king. Prom
is one night of many in a student’s life. If people are set on changing the world for the
better, they should reconsider the issue they are fighting for.
ANDIBACA
Andi Baca is a senior
journalism major. ,
French book blaming
U.S. for 9/11 an insult
N egligence on behalf of
the U.S. government
concerning the Sept. 1 1
attacks has been in the spot
light for weeks now, and many
Americans are bothered by the
lack of unity the finger point
ing suggests. What may bother them even
more, however, is a book that has been on
the best seller list in France since its release
March 11.
Vhe book is entitled The Horrifying Fraud
and was written by notorious French radical
Thierry Meyssan. This book does not merely
suggest that the U.S. government failed to
protect its people, but it argues that the gov
ernment actually carried out the attacks using
remote controlled airplanes. Meyssan refers
to the universally accepted version of the
tragedy as a “loony fable” comprised of a
series of lies perpetrated by the White House
and Defense Department.
The fact that Meyssan would write this
novel is an insult. That the publisher would
choose to release it just six months after the
incident is despicable. What is frightening,
however, is that the people of France are
eating it up.
Meyssan’s contention cites an actual
desire for war with Iraq and Afghanistan as
the reason why the government would risk
such an act with such unpredictable domes
tic repercussions. Any American who
remembers, how it felt to watch the Twin
Towers fall on television would dismiss the
notion that such a book could be written in
our homeland.
The lessons being learned now are that
these convoluted conspiracy theories regard
ing the omniscient, evil U.S. government are
far-fetched and sometimes ridiculous.
American homeland security has been so
entangled in bureaucratic red tape that the
FBI could not even get permission to search
the computer of Zacharias Moussaoui, a man
they suspected of planning terrorist activity
and who was later linked to the attacks.
During his trial, Moussaoui represented
himself and proceeded to denounce
American society, American people and the
government. His disdain for this country runs
so deep that he stood in the courtroom and
ranted to the judge for an hour
about how force, even terror
ist acts, must be used to
change the despicable
American system. This same
system he detests allows peo
ple like him to voice opinions
and represent themselves freely in a court of
law.
Moussaoui’s admission of plotting to
harm Americans proves, if only expost-
facto, that the FBI was correct in pursuing
him. It seems Meyssan overlooked all the
Al-Qaida fighters who profess their hatred
of America and their so called Islamic duty
to destroy it when writing The Horrifying
Fraud. Perhaps Meyssan even failed to
look at himself as another anti-American
radical, completely independent of the U.S.
government’s puppet strings.
The Horrifying Fraud has yet to be trans
lated into English, but is projected to be in
the near future. Not only will it be released
in England and America once its translation
is complete, but the publisher has sought its
translation into 16 other languages for all the
world to read. It is unclear what the publisher
hopes to accomplish by releasing the book in
America, but there will undoubtedly be
severe backlash.
While Americans will most likely dismiss
Meyssan’s argument as an irresponsible
attempt to profit off the Sept. 11 attack, a
tragedy that killed thousands, the response of
other countries is harder to predict. The
reader patronization in France alone is
alarming. Perhaps the French citizens read it
for its outlandish entertainment value only.
Regardless, Meyssan is getting rich for his
utter disrespect towards all American people.
Like it or not, when the U.S. govern
ment is criticized on such an alarmingly
large scale by a book written in another
country, all of America suffers, even
Americans who object to some of the gov
ernment’s practices. Such is the justification
used by terrorists for killing innocent peo
ple. They make no distinction between the
government and the people.
Christy Ruth is a senior
journalism major.
CHRISTY RUTH