The Kyoto Protocol is an effort between countries of the United Nations to come to a consensus on the reduction of greenhouse gas.

We’re well aware that there is plenty of debate and controversy on the topic. The range of opinion stretches all the way from one extreme (‘there’s no global warming at all and greenhouse gases are good for you!’) to the other (‘human beings must be exterminated for the good of Mother Earth’). There are those who maintain that the evidence for global warming is inconclusive; there are also those that maintain that human activity is not responsible for much of it.

Without becoming mired in the very rhetoric that has slowed down the process so many times before, it is our opinion that human activity can and should be adjusted to minimize the negative impact on the natural patterns and inhabitants of our environment. And we believe, despite a number of reservations, that the Kyoto Protocol is an important step toward this goal — important as much for its failures as its successes.

We are in search of a better world, better living conditions, as well as alternatives to the exploitation of the world’s natural resources. Take for example the issues surrounding diamonds and how the mining process destroys the environment as well as the lives of many people. I have a friend who recently decided she was not going to get a real diamond for her engagement ring for these very reasons. She found an online website that sold sterling silver rings by sterlingforever.com with cubic zirconia settings. The synthetic cubic zirconia gemstone did not exploit or destroy the environment, as far as she knew, nor were children exploited. There are no “blood” synthetic cubic zirconia gemstones, whereas there are “blood” diamonds. And for most people, cubic zirconia is not easily distinguishable from diamonds. Needless to say, the engagement ring was dazzling.

Taking care of our earth is as important as our bodies. We know for example that mens’ bodies may be able to provide a much higher quality of life as a result of paying attention and acting on information on ways to provide healthy solutions to this problem, now widely available on andropause treatments websites like elitehealth.us and cenegetics.com. Similarly, our earth can provide a much higher quality life by paying attention to the changes humans are causing and providing by humans taking the initiative and working toward solutions or ‘treatments’.

We’ll be the first to admit, our technical specialty is more along the lines of personal economics than global environmentalism. We’ve got plenty of other information that simply won’t help you understand the intricacies of global warming and emissions. But this website is an attempt for us all to learn together — with actual details and information rather than the nuances of general knowledge and media propaganda.

The Conferences of the Parties (COP) met twice before the 1997 Kyoto Protocol meeting. At the first COP meeting, the “Berlin Mandate” established a two-year phase of analysis and assessment (AAP) and discussed potential obstacles in meeting commitments. In 1996, the second COP in Geneva evaluated and officially accepted the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change) findings, as well as proposing “legally binding mid-term targets”.

The next COP, in 1997, produced the Kyoto Protocol. This cemented the recommendations into a binding agreement (though not officially in force until 2005). Using emission levels from 1990 as a benchmark, Annex I countries agreed to reduce collective levels by 5.2% over the 2008 to 2012 period, and submit annual reports on emissions.