Project Summary: QUESTION: Climate Change PROMPT: Climate change discussions often turn into a “who is to blame” argument. The United States is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to the current levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and there has been almost universal acceptance of the terms of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the U.S. government argues that, although we may have influenced the current conditions, it has to be up to others to mitigate the problem. The discussion often shifts to India and China due to their ever-expanding population and their current and projected development. They are on the path to becoming more developed which, using old technologies, will be extremely polluting. As outlined in the Case study presented in Chapter 9 (page 237), this stalemate has led to even more controversy on how to manage this issue. Lost in this discussion, however, is the reality that the need for changes goes beyond financial arguments. Check out the EPA’s Climate Change website