The United States - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 40

with a protocol to present to a meeting in Kyoto, Japan. (A protocol is a
treaty limited to a specific problem within the Framework Convention.)
The protocol had three major provisions. First, all industrial countries
were to agree to specific limits to greenhouse gas emissions to be imposed
over a 13-year period. Second, underdeveloped countries would not have
any limits. This was because it seemed unfair to deny the Third World an
opportunity to develop their industries, when the First World had had a
150-year head start. This included China, which was the second largest
emitter, even though its people were poor. Third, the protocol provided that
the industrial countries would give money to the underdeveloped ones to
help them. After 10 days of bitter debate in Kyoto, including an all-night
session, the delegates signed. The US delegation was not happy, but Clinton
wanted the United States to sign, and Vice President Gore made a special
trip to Japan to strengthen their resolve and gain the agreement of allies.
Having signed the Kyoto Protocol, however, Clinton was in a quandary.
Business opposition was intense. Under the provisions of the Constitution,
the Senate has to pass all treaties with a two-thirds vote, and a few months
earlier the Senate had passed a resolution 95 to zero announcing it would not
approve the protocol. Hence, Clinton did nothing, except to make a speech
saying that he hoped that within a year or two China and the other under-
developed countries would sign—an impossible dream. Clinton ignored
the situation for the rest of his term. When Gore sought and received the
Democratic presidential nomination in 2000, he was afraid the controversy
would cost him votes, so he did not want Clinton to do anything.
The Energy Crisis: Presidents from Nixon to Reagan had to deal with the
energy crisis that burst upon the world in October 1973, when the Arab oil
exporters suddenly raised the price of oil from $1.50 a barrel to $3, followed
over the next year with increases to $6. It impetus was the Arab inability
to win back much territory after the Yom Kipper War. Besides raising the
price of crude oil, they embargoed countries that had supported Israel.
The Arabs were backed up by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC). The United States was in turmoil. Motorists waited in
line for hours to purchase a few gallons of gasoline, and heating oil was
scarce. President Nixon invoked wartime authority to allocate gasoline
from one state to another. Also Congress quickly passed a law to limit the
price domestic oil producers in Texas and Louisiana could charge. The
crisis was a transportation and economic disaster. Supplies were short,
and businesses were subject to strict regulation. As a result getting more
oil often meant sacrificing the environment.