To hear world leaders and others addressing the United Nations Summit on Climate Change, the threat could not be more real and the need more urgent to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.
But in stark contrast to the earnest statements is the carbon footprint associated with their gathering.
It happens every autumn: midtown Manhattan becomes the motorcade capital of the world. Each foreign leader in town has a convoy of vehicles. Some of them, like President Obama's motorcade, are 20-to-30 vehicles in length. It's so long - it seems that when the front of it reaches the U.N., the back end is still back at his hotel.
Police block intersections as well as entire streets causing a massive gridlock.
Countless vehicles are immobile waiting for the motorcades to pass while their idling engines continue to blow exhaust into midtown Manhattan air.
The big throbbing engines of the luxury SUV’s and limousines in the motorcades move slowly through the streets belching their own contribution to the local smog problem.
Does it undermine the goal of the climate change summit and cause the pledges of environmental concern to ring hollow?
Asked about it, White House climate change negotiator Todd Sterns had a suggestion.
"I think the U.N. should make a pledge to electric vehicle motorcades within five years," he said.
Right. As soon as all U.N. diplomats pay their parking tickets.
Five years? Yea, right. Maybe five years from some Monday.
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A picture of my cave
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