Blinkered vision

July 12, 2017 01:01 am | Updated 01:01 am IST

 

U.S. President Donald Trump repudiates two civilising forces of the human collective, diplomacy and science, to undercut man’s chances of surviving global warming. For long, researchers have worked out the role that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases play in regulating temperature. The 1980s saw supercomputers model the climate with ever greater power. G20 nations represent the world’s advanced scientific mettle, yet Mr. Trump reduces climate change to a mere equation in trade arithmetic. The problem is that quite a few of his diehard followers egg him on. Sitting pretty on lrage oil reserves and with huge reservoirs of natural gas, he is emboldened to defy others politically. Trade isolationism could even give a transient boost to growth at home. In doing so, he cedes global leadership to others who are as capable. The U.S. would discover soon enough the loss of clout and look back with regret at the Trump years.

R. Narayanan,

Ghaziabad

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