By Mr. Curmudgeon

Many of the delegates currently attending the Copenhagen climate summit know who the real enemy is. It’s not global warming or big oil. For advocates of the “climate justice movement,” the enemy is us – every citizen of the United State of America. In an editorial appearing in 56 newspapers around the world, its authors say, “Few believe that Copenhagen can any longer produce a fully polished treaty…even now the world finds itself at the mercy of American domestic politics, for the president [Obama] cannot fully commit to the action required until the US Congress has done so.”

The editorial conductor motions to the string section of the global warming orchestra and the violins begin their sorrowful moan:

“…The rich world is responsible for most of the accumulated carbon in the atmosphere – three-quarters of all carbon dioxide emitted since 1850. It must now take a lead, and every developed country must commit to deep cuts which will reduce their emissions…”

Then the editorial gets to the heart of what the Copenhagen summit is really all about – what to Americans will seem an ear-splitting gong:

“Social justice demands that the industrialized world digs deep into its pockets and pledges cash to help poorer countries…

“Many of us, particularly in the developed world, will have to change our lifestyles. The era of flights that cost less than the taxi ride to the airport is drawing to a close. We will have to shop, eat and travel more intelligently. We will have to pay more for our energy, and use less of it.”

In other words, we Americans will have to pay for our high standard of living by living like hunter-gatherer equatorial pygmies. Climate change, after all, has little to do with weather and everything to do with economics. It’s the kind of “change” that is eerily similar to the one President Obama campaigned on. When Ohio’s Joe the Plumber encountered candidate Obama loitering on his front lawn, old Joe could hardly have imagined that Obama’s promise to “spread the wealth around” was a threat that had global implications.