EMERSON WORKS TO UNDO KYOTO TREATY

Having attended two major international meetings and worked hard to become informed on the topic, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson is working overtime to defeat the Kyoto treaty that is supposed to address global-warming issues. Good for her.

Enthusiasts for the Kyoto treaty are proof of the triumph of faith over substance. They take on faith that whatever warming the planet may have undergone is the result of man's activities, when there is plenty of evidence that we have oscillated between centuries-long periods of warming and cooling through the millenia. They also eagerly embrace a catastrophic scenario and will brook no dissent from those informed scientists who say that if there is a warming trend, it may even be a good thing with many benefits.

Even treaty supporters, however, can't deny this fundamental fact: The treaty is flawed in that it doesn't apply evenly to all nations of the world. No, this is a treaty designed to punish developed countries such as the United States and our trading partners in Western European and Japan. It is to these countries that the treaty's draconian provisions are aimed, while the Indias, the Mexicos and other backward nations get off scot-free.

How can treaty supporters get around a flaw as fundamental as this? They can't, of course. We're supposed to take it like they do: on faith. Well, include us out. We are proud of the stand of our representative in Congress and applaud her work on this vital issue. We wish her well as she tries to awaken Americans to the many threats posed by a dangerously flawed treaty.