Bush Blames Russia?

Last Thursday, after talks ended at the Poznan Global Climate Conference, the U.S. negotiating team was asked what they would have done differently during the past 8 years.  James Connaughton, Bush's chief environmental advisor, responded that he "whish[ed] first that Russia had made up its mind sooner as to whether it was going to join Kyoto or not.  I think we lost a couple of years of work while that decision was being made."

Whoa, hold on a second - WTF?!?!??  Does this guy have his head stuck up his a$$ or something?  He wishes that Russia had made up its mind about Kyoto sooner, because they held up work on it?   Ummmm.... I believe that the U.S. still hasn't ratified the treaty... so, what's Russia got to do with it?  Until the U.S. ratifies, it doesn't affect us, so we couldn't do any work on it whether Russia signed or not!

Besides, I thought Bush & Co. didn't really believe in global warming.   I mean, they haven't done anything to curb greenhouse gasses or improve gas mileage in our cars.  Just look at the difference in goals between the U.S., Europe, and Canada.

• The U.S. has no target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions  by 2020,  and wants more tax cuts for the energy companies.
  
• Europe wants to cut emissions to 20% of 1990 levels and enforce a mandatory cap-and-trade system
• Canada wants to cut emissions to 1990 levels and let the energy companies create their own efficiency standards

The U.S. is clearly still in denial.  This will all change drastically once Obama assumes the Presidency, but until then, we're the outcasts and deniers.  Which is why it pisses me off so much that Connaughton can blame the Russians for holding up a treaty that we're not even paying any attention to.

Sources:

Gristmill: Guess which country the Bush team blames for lack of a climate deal?

The Wonk Room: Earth To Bush: We Can't Wait 15 More Years