As a rule, Tony Blair could be relied on staying within the bound of reasonableness when push came to shove in controversies surrounding global warming. He has argued, for instance, that that the problem of global warming cannot be dealt with unless agreements such as Kyoto Treaty include India and China which are exempted from its current draft. He has also defended the utilization of nuclear energy.

It looks, however, that the winds may be changing now. In his foreword to a book summarizing research on global warming released yesterday, the Prime Minister claims that the emission of greenhouse gases was causing global warming at a rate that is 'unsustainable.' He then continues:

It is now plain that the emission of greenhouse gases, associated with industrialisation and economic growth from a world population that has increased six—fold in 200 years, is causing global warming at a rate that is unsustainable.

These words echo ominously those of radical environmental activists who don their green clock to cover their anti—capitalist agenda. This comes at a point in time when the European environmental left is once again showing signs of feverish activity.

If this indeed heralds a dramatic shift in Blair's views, it will almost certainly add a new layer of strain on the relations between America and Britain. This is precisely what we do not need at the time when unity is called for more than ever as we face some very REAL problems such as the possibility of a nuclear Iran and the rise to power of a terror organization in Palestine.

Vasko Kohlmayer  1 31 06