The Changed World vs. The United States

In reading this article from Wired magazine about the US and it's position on the Kyoto Protocol, it's sad to see how little the US seems to care about emissions control and greenhouse gases.

It made me wonder if one day, in a changed world, we'll see the United States defending itself in a court of law for the inaction of these times.

Without a doubt, the industrial age of America was the beginning of creating machines and consumption cycles that pushed along dirty technologies (before we even knew how dirty some were...). We invented and mass produced the automobile, and fueled a worldwide revolution in electricity and power.

Our unwillingness at a national level to combat the changes that we played such a large role in creating baffles me. So as other economies and societies around the world deal with changing climate and its impact on them, I can't help but ponder whether someday, somehow, the United States might be held responsible... as it should be right now.