The Bush Withdrawal Method

Loud international criticism of President Bush's decision to withdraw from the Kyoto treaty on climate change continued yesterday, and a broad coalition of U.S. religious groups urged Bush to revisit the decision. At a meeting in Montreal, environmental ministers from North and South America canceled a long-planned statement on how to proceed with implementing Kyoto and instead pressed U.S. EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman to explain the U.S. position. "Kyoto clearly is not perfect, but Kyoto is what we've got," said a top Canadian negotiator, Paul Fauteux. Whitman tried to reassure the officials, but had no alternative plan on global warming to offer them. She left the two-day conference a day early, citing "other commitments."