'It's so hot!!!'                                 [Hoje Macau, Macau, China]

Die Presse, Austria

Al Gore, Hot Air

and Adolph Hitler

"What the world does not need are stupid comparisons like the one Al Gore employed equating the earth’s warming with Adolph Hitler, or heroically signed international agreements that aren't the least respected."

By Michael Prüller

Translated By Julian Jacob

December 15, 2007

Austria - Die Presse - Original Article (German)

Pathos reigns in Bali. But to make really significant progress at the Copenhagen [climate] conference in 2009, a bit more sobriety is recommended.

Sometimes one wonders why that professional climate saver - who with great emotion was again celebrated in Bali - is the guarantor of meaningful climate policies. What the world does not need are stupid comparisons like the one Al Gore employed equating the earth’s warming with Adolph Hitler, or heroically signed international agreements that aren't the least respected.

Most urgent now is not some global-rescue euphoria, but a realistic agreement among the six largest carbon dioxide emitters: The USA, China, the E.U., Russia, India and Japan. And a good look at Kyoto could be useful: it was a treaty that major polluters could sign with ease, because they weren’t committed to any reductions (such as China and India), or by some who could take it lightly (such as Russia, which will only reach critical CO2 levels in the years to come). The attitude of the United States was more honest - and one must remember that it wasn't only George Bush - but a united senate under Clinton and Gore (!) that rejected the agreement - refusing to agree to such a non-binding commitment.

If the 2009 Copenhagen Conference - for which Bali is only the start - is to bring results, it would be better to foster the kind of atmosphere we want: one of sobriety rather than pathos.

Click for German Article