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A messy decade

A “lost decade” for Americans

By Ishmael N. Daro, CUP Opinions
Bureau Chief

SASKATOON (CUP)—As the clock counts
down to 2010, we look back on a decade
that gave us the iPod, the Toyota Prius and
Miley Cyrus.

Although these are undoubtedly great
engineering achievements, they did not
define the decade. When historians look
back on the 2000s, they will likely describe
it as a decade of violence and unrest.

The 2000s started out with great
promise. The Cold War had long been over
and the great powers of the world seemed
more interested in looking inward rather
than outward. In the United States, George
W. Bush swept into office—albeit after a
contested election victory — promising a
humble foreign policy that avoided foreign
adventures and nation building.

“Tf we’re an arrogant nation, they’ Il
resent us; if we’re a humble nation, but
strong, they’ll welcome us,” Bush said

during a presidential debate against Al Gore.

“And our nation stands alone right now in

the world in terms of power, and that’s why _

we've got to be humble, and yet project
strength in a way that promotes freedom.”

As we all know, however, this changed
with the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Almost 3,000 people died in the attacks as
two gleaming symbols of American power
and prestige collapsed unto themselves. The
last attack on American soil had been Pearl
Harbor, which had killed fewer people than
9/11, and offered an obvious enemy against
which to retaliate. But in the aftermath of
9/11, there was no clear way forward.

The anger over 9/11 rightfully led to
the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan,
for which Canada joined in, but it didn’t
stop there. The humility Governor Bush
spoke of was gone, replaced by President
Bush’s “with us or against us” style
of diplomacy. Instead of focusing on
rebuilding a country ravaged by decades
of civil war, the United States turned its

bloodlust on Iraq, almost losing both
countries to extremism in the process.

As the lone superpower continued its
aggressive campaigns overseas that cost
both blood and treasure, it also lost its
moral authority. Preemptive war, torture,
kidnapping and indefinite imprisonment all
tarnished America’s image. Guantanamo,
Abu Ghraib and now Bagram Prison in
Afghanistan are all examples of what
happens when an empire overstretches
itself financially, militarily and morally. It
now appears Canada may also have been
complicit in the torture of detainees in
Afghanistan, which reflects poorly on us as
a nation.

Throw in the financial crisis of 2008
and its ongoing effects, and the 2000s were
a lost decade for Americans.

But where America failed, others are
stepping in. The rise of Asian economies,
led by China and India, means that the
world’s balance of power may be shifting.
Likewise, Brazil and Russia are increasingly

flexing their economic (and sometimes
military) muscles. The recent election of a
new president and foreign minister for the
European Union could mean that the next
decade will see a more even distribution of
power and influence around the world.

Despite the recession, the world’s
economies are more integrated than ever.
And though the economic aspects of
globalization always seem most prominent,
the political and social aspects have worked
to make our world more interconnected and
interdependent than ever before.

There are many challenges looming
in the 2010s, including global issues such
as climate change, and though new power
centres have emerged the world still only
has its sole superpower in the United States.
Still, one can’t help but feel hopeful that
in the next decade, especially with a more
moderate American president, we will not
repeat some of the mistakes that made the
2000s such a tumultuous time.

 

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A different perspective on Climategate

By Trevor Doré, Opinions Editor

n November 2009, documents and

e-mails regarding climate change and

human expedited global warming were
hacked from a server used by the University
of East Anglia’s Climatic Research
Unit (CRU). The emails and documents
contained information and exchanges
among climate scientists regarding years
of climate change research and evidence
of increased global warming due to human
activity.

The controversy and scandal dubbed
Climategate arose when climate change
sceptics handpicked a few out-of-context
quotes in order to portray all of CRU’s
research as being doctored. Global warming
sceptics and deniers took the “evidence”
and ran; claiming that global warming due
to human activity is a complete farce based
on these documents. They reasoned that
Climategate proves that humans do not have
an impact on global warming and therefore,
we should stop shelling out money to reduce
carbon emissions and implement sustainable
initiatives.

The whole scandal proves just how far
the denial industry will go in attempts to
confuse the public. Is it possible that these
sceptics are individuals who have a vested

14

interest in creating doubt? Oil companies
anyone? Cigarette companies have been in
the business of creating doubt ever since it
was scientifically proven that cigarettes are
hazardous to human health. Perhaps these
people are just looking for an easy way
out—a way

absolutely not the case. For global warming
to be completely discredited, one would
have to disprove and discredit tens of
thousands of scientists, and hundreds

of thousands of studies and papers. One
would also need to show that the whole

x thing has been

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and Thanks are quick to

deniers have one thing in common: a
misunderstanding of scientific theory.

No scientific theory claims absolute
truth. Scientific method involves numerous
hypotheses, which are continually being
tested and validated through repeat
experimentation. One report by a few
scientists that reveals doctored stats of
human impacts on global warming is not
remotely enough evidence to disprove the
theory.

A lot of sceptics seem to believe that
all climate science is made by a couple
of scientist working together—this is

jump on the denial bandwagon yet fail to
present an alternative theory. The CRU is
not the only institution that claims human
activity increases the impacts of global
warming and their findings are not the only
proof that global warming is a reality. The
list of scientists, scientific institutions and
their findings goes on and on.

The fact that there is not 100 per cent
proof that humans are increasing the effects
of global warming does not mean we sit
around and wait until we can be certain.

In many cases resources are finite and
population is increasing. Does it not make

sense—regardless of the potential human
impacts on global warming—to make an
effort to consume and pollute less?

World climate has been changing since
the dawn of time and will continue to do
so into the future. However, never has the
planet had to support so many gluttonous
human beings. Although the potential
outcomes of climate change and global
warming —natural or human caused—do not
mean the end of the world, they will most
likely result in harsher living conditions
for humans and all other life forms. As sea
levels rise and agriculture land and fresh
water resources disappear, humans will be
affected and displaced. It all boils down to
quality of life and finding ways to adapt to
an ever-changing climate.

Overall, Climategate is nothing but a
product of doubt manufactured by the denial
industry and in the end, it will come down
to real-world evidence— melting ice caps
and rising sea levels, increased temperature
fluctuations and intensity of weather
systems, droughts and floods cannot be
doctored.

 

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