More Kyoto Caca

This little bit is from www.instapundit.com. The gentleman there, Glenn Reynolds, is a libertarian leaning law prof who I find myself agreeing with more often than not. Now, with proper attribution, here's the story that caught my eye tonight.

BLAME AMERICA FIRST: Check out this bogus Associated Press story.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070115/ap_on_sc/emirates_ecological_nightmare_1

Key bit:
The United States is no longer bound by Kyoto, which the Bush administration rejected after taking office in 2001.


Er, no. The truth is as close as this entry from the not especially Bush-friendly Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_accord#Position_of_the_United_States


On July 25, 1997, before the Kyoto Protocol was finalized (although it had been fully negotiated, and a penultimate draft was finished), the U.S. Senate unanimously passed by a 95–0 vote the Byrd-Hagel Resolution (S. Res. 98),[40] which stated the sense of the Senate was that the United States should not be a signatory to any protocol that did not include binding targets and timetables for developing as well as industrialized nations or "would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States". On November 12, 1998, Vice President Al Gore symbolically signed the protocol. Both Gore and Senator Joseph Lieberman indicated that the protocol would not be acted upon in the Senate until there was participation by the developing nations.[41] The Clinton Administration never submitted the protocol to the Senate for ratification.


Hmm. No Bush Administration rejection there. There is this bit, later on:


The current President, George W. Bush, has indicated that he does not intend to submit the treaty for ratification, not because he does not support the Kyoto principles, but because of the exemption granted to China (the world's second largest emitter of carbon dioxide[42]). . . . Despite its refusal to submit the protocol to Congress for ratification, the Bush Administration has taken some actions towards mitigation of climate change.


Read the whole thing, and note: The United States was never bound by Kyoto, and it was not "rejected" by the Bush Administration. Once again, a webpage by unpaid amateurs is more accurate and nuanced than an effort by the Associated Press. Anyone can make a mistake, but the AP's seem to lean heavily in an anti-Bush direction.

Worth pointing out, and well spotted, Glenn. Now, with my civic outrage taken care of, my geeky self is going out to pick up the expansion for World of Warcraft. I'll get all the sleep I need when I am dead.