earthfamilyalpha: I just ate a G 8

Wow, the G 8 nations have agreed to begin to limit emissions of greenhouse gases,

sort of.

Here's the story from Al Jazeera.

World leaders at the G8 summit have sealed an agreement in which they will make "substantial" cuts in greenhouse gases and secure a post-Kyoto protocol deal by 2009.

Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said: "We agreed on clear language ... that recognises CO2 emissions must first be stopped and followed by substantial reductions."

In what she said was "a clear commitment to continue the UN climate process", G8 countries meeting in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm had agreed to "consider" her aim for a 50 per cent cut in emissions by 2050.

At this stage, leaders have not committed to any specific targets. (clip)

Merkel said that talks on a post-Kyoto pact would take place within the framework of the UN.

The deal is the most serious commitment to action on climate change by the US, the world's largest global warmer.

Washington had initially resisted attempts by Merkel to set a goal for cuts needed to combat a warming of the Earth's surface, which many scientists say will cause sea levels to rise, and more droughts and floods.

But she secured a partial victory by securing an inclusion of the target in a document put out to summit leaders.

Environmentalists critical

Environmentalists, however, have condemned the G8's failure to agree on specific, binding goals.

Neil Adger of the UK's Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said: "Agreeing on a numerical target is a significant first step, and not taking that first step is going to condemn us to a lot of pain and suffering in terms of the impacts of climate change.

"While Daniel Mittler of Greenpeace said that Bush had not agreed to anything worthwhile.

"He has agreed to seriously consider [the goal of cutting gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050], which I think we can translate as, 'Bush will watch while the rest of the world acts'". more

In the meantime, a new report from the UK published by the World Energy Council states that, "Renewables will unlikely be able to meet the challenges of climate change".

Here is the summary of the report.

The WEC is a NGO with membership from all over the world. Unfortunately, these members do not list who they work for in the web page. Probably just an oversight.

Yesterday, while driving through the Texas Wind Fields, I imagined the highway before me coated with nanobased power paints on the shoulders...an electric highway with large scale embedded capacitance for the nights and for the days when it rained. I imagined my all-electric muscle car having four 60 HP electric motors in each wheel and my smart conductive plate on the bottom of my car recognizing the embedded conductive charge plate in the pavement below, and getting 50 miles of electric fuel zapped into my 240 mile capacity super capacitor in less than 8 seconds while waiting at the light.

I was in Iraan. Up above me on the mesa was the famous Yates oil field, perhaps one of the greatest tiny American oil fields of all time. I drove to the barbeque place and ate, as promised by the female head meat burner, one of the greatest BBQ sandwiches I'd ever eaten.

As I tried to eat this humongous sandwich, I thought about how close we truly are to becoming a technologically advanced society,

and how surprising easy it would be make the transition

away from the fossil fuels that now threaten our life

on this planet.

But as Al Gore says,

We are no longer ruled by reason,

And as we all know,

we have never ruled by our hearts.