G8 '08

It's that time again, folks! Of course I am talking about the annual G8 summit, in which leaders from "eight major industrialized nations" meet up to rap about world problems. It should be of no surprise that this year's hottest issue is global warming. What is surprising (at least to me, a long-time G8 enthusiast) is that Bush is agreeing to maybe try to meet the emissions standards proposed by the group. Why is this so surprising? Well, the sub-heading to this WaPo article about the agreement says it all:

"Deal Is the Furthest Bush Has Gone in Committing U.S. to Targets on Global Warming"

Did you read that? Take a moment and let it sink in. Just so we're clear, this agreement would cut emissions in half by 2050. Granted by the time the treaty takes affect in 2009, Bush won't have to deal with the logistics of putting any of this into practice. Anyways, I'm going to resist the urge to call this action on the president's part "too little too late" and congratulate him on taking this important first step towards not only acknowledging that global warming exists but actually doing something about it. I doubt that we'll see him driving a Prius or even taking his own bags to the grocery store anytime soon, but the first step is always the hardest, right?