US Secretary of State Calls Climate Change 'Weapon of Mass Destruction'

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Arshad Mohammed reports on Reuters from Jakarta that US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Indonesians that man-made climate change could threaten their entire way of life, deriding those who doubted the existence of 'perhaps the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction' and describing those who do not accept that human activity causes global warming as 'shoddy scientists' and 'extreme ideologues'. 'Because of climate change, it's no secret that today Indonesia is ... one of the most vulnerable countries on Earth. It's not an exaggeration to say that the entire way of life that you live and love is at risk,' said Kerry. 'In a sense, climate change can now be considered another weapon of mass destruction, perhaps even the world's most fearsome weapon of mass destruction.' In Beijing on Friday, Kerry announced that China and the United States had agreed to intensify information-sharing and policy discussions on their plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions after 2020. At home, Kerry faces a politically tricky decision on whether to allow the Keystone XL pipeline after a State Department report played down the impact the Keystone pipeline would have on climate change. However Kerry showed little patience for skeptics in his speech. 'We just don't have time to let a few loud interest groups hijack the climate conversation,' said Kerry. 'I'm talking about big companies that like it the way it is, that don't want to change, and spend a lot of money to keep you and me and everybody from doing what we know we need to do.'"

We wouldn't have this problem...

[sabbede]

if Climate Change hadn't been hijacked by wild-eyed hippies who insisted on pushing it in a way that turned off the people they needed to convince.

Re:Given the mass extinctions...

[plover]

As an island nation, most Indonesians live within a few miles of a coast. A typhoon's impact ends within a few miles of a coast. Imagine a hurricane Sandy type event striking half the population centers of the country, not just one or two cities.

Re:Ahh Kerry...

[microbox]

Haha, it takes a special type of person to fall for such obvious smears [amazon.com], when they are so obviously made up whole cloth [wikipedia.org].

Gah...

[conquistadorst]

Regardless of whether or not mankind is fully, partially, or trivially responsible for climate change. Calling it a weapon of mass destruction is fully moronic. It's a distortion of reality for the sole sake of sensationalizing the issue. It's not worth tainting the argument for the sake of getting the point across.

Now it's just a matter of time before we start arresting people for starting bonfires or driving to work. Gas guzzler, hybrid, or all electric you'll all be terrorists wielding WMDs! /tongueincheek

Re:Manmade global warming is a hoax!

[ganjadude]

I dont agree with AGW, but using only rush limbaugh as your source even makes me cringe

Re:Your backyard

[bunratty]

No one is proposing hamstringing human civilization that I can see. We're talking about moving into the 21st century by shifting to energy production that is based on sources that will last far longer than fossil fuels will last. By reducing the amount of warming and ocean acidification, we're helping ensure future economic prosperity. I suppose change is just scary to some people.

Re: Your backyard

[JWW]

So, Kerry was implying federal intervention in international affairs.

The original poster was saying the Feds wouldn't intervene in a situation involving purely national affairs.

It sounds to me like they have a solution that involves restricting the river technologically, but the Democrats don't like technological solutions, they prefer regulatory solutions and taxes.

Re:Shit...

[slim]

Then why is it that the EPA is regulating carbon dioxide emissions for wood burning stoves and furnaces [regulations.gov]?

There's nothing about CO2 in there. Those regulations are about dirty and poisonous emissions. Carbon monoxide and particulate emissions; black smoke. Nothing to do with global warming. All about keeping the air breathable in densely populated areas.

An ideal wood burner would emit just water and CO2.

Wood burners can be made very efficient nowadays; by channelling the air flow in clever ways, you can get more complete combustion meaning more heat, cleaner emissions and less ash. These regulations just make sure that the wood burners you'll be able to buy do that.