Do you think the U.S. should pay reparations for severe weather?

SSgt Alex Robinson — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 11:32:21 -0400

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/09/12/kostigen-climate-change-reparations/72014440/

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2015 11:46 AM

Cpl Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 11:46:11 -0400

Will those poor nations ask the same of China or Russia who are billowing out the green house gases that are allegedly causing anthropogenic global warming? Will the dictators of those poor countries give up the stockpiles of money they are amassing off of the backs of their poor? Would BO borrow more money from china or the federal reserve to pay those ten-pot dictators off of the backs of your children?

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Sep 12 at 2015 12:02 PM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 12:02:04 -0400

No...we should not have to pay. We could pay...and look at it as doing the "right thing." But we should not feel we are obligated to pay and these other countries do not have the right to expect the US to have to pay.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Sep 12 at 2015 12:05 PM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 12:05:22 -0400

Well, there is that sticky little issue about proof...

"In the law, a proximate cause is an event sufficiently related to a legally recognizable injury to be held to be the cause of that injury. There are two types of causation in the law: cause-in-fact, and proximate (or legal) cause."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximate_cause

Proximate cause - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In the law, a proximate cause is an event sufficiently related to a legally recognizable injury to be held to be the cause of that injury. There are two types of causation in the law: cause-in-fact, and proximate (or legal) cause. Cause-in-fact is determined by the "but for" test: But for the action, the result would not have happened.[1] For example, but for running the red light, the collision would not have occurred. For an act to cause a...

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Sep 12 at 2015 12:06 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 12:06:59 -0400

The US has 320M people. The World has 6-7 billion. We're talking 1 Billion in China. 1 Billion in India. 1/3 of a Billion in the US.

Let's look at the actual math. Although we are the 4th largest country by landmass, and by population, we have a lot of empty space, and when it comes to actual population, we are a distant follower.

The idea that we should be the one that pays "because we're rich" is just a redistribution of wealth scheme, which must be answered with the following.

"Is it correct to punish someone for something they have not done?" if the answer to that is no, then why "Is it correct to reward someone for something they have not done?" Put those to two questions in either order. It doesn't matter.

Now, I get the arguments about Climate Change. But those arguments are generally outside of International Politics. One is the problem itself, while the other is about blame, and how much that blame is worth. It's not about fixing the problem. That's an entirely different issue, which politics is not addressing.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Sep 12 at 2015 12:12 PM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 12:12:32 -0400

Saudi Arabia and all the oil rich countries are terraforming deserts into high rise cities. Why don't they go ask them seeing as they all share the same back yards?

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Sep 12 at 2015 12:22 PM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 12:22:53 -0400

Consider the following....

Response by SN Greg Wright made Sep 12 at 2015 1:01 PM

SN Greg Wright — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 13:01:22 -0400

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Sep 12 at 2015 1:37 PM

COL Jon Thompson — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 13:37:11 -0400

I may be wrong but I cannot recall a situation where we give money to third world nations that does not end up in corrupt politicians and contractor hands. I know BHO thinks that climate change is our greatest national security threat and that the science is settled. But I am not convinced that we are responsible for this. I do not want any of my taxes going to corrupt governments.

Response by PO1 Glenn Boucher made Sep 12 at 2015 2:32 PM

PO1 Glenn Boucher — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 14:32:15 -0400

After reading the article I still don't see how prosperous nations should be held responsible for severe weather in poor nations. And a newsflash for the UN, every nation suffers from severe weather and deal with it accordingly. Why should it be a burden for the prosperous nations to support?

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Sep 12 at 2015 2:33 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 14:33:54 -0400

Nah.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Sep 12 at 2015 2:51 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 14:51:29 -0400

Depends... Did our secret weather machines cause this? =o)

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2015 3:31 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 15:31:17 -0400

Pay reparations for what exactly? We don't create the weather and just send the bad stuff their way. I would like for my mortgage company to pay off my house, will it happen???? I'll not hold my breath!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2015 6:00 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 18:00:22 -0400

It would make more sense to spend that money reducing carbon emissions. I do believe we should make an extra effort to accept refugees from countries suffering heavily from climate change, however that and reducing carbon emissions is more than enough.

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Sep 12 at 2015 6:02 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 18:02:34 -0400

What a crock of crap.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2015 6:12 PM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 18:12:28 -0400

No, absolutely not. People either have insurance or they don't.

Response by SGT Jerrold Pesz made Sep 12 at 2015 7:26 PM

SGT Jerrold Pesz — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 19:26:00 -0400

Because we are who has money that they can steal and there are enough stupid people in our government that will buy that load of crap. It often seems that the goal of everyone on earth is to clean out the US.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2015 7:26 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 19:26:55 -0400

The reason they are asking us for the money is we are a country of bleeding hearts who seem to have deep pockets and will give them money. They know that Russia and China will tell them to go pound sand. Lets focus on getting emissions down and spend our money wisely. We have enough debt in this country already. Lets worry about what the heck is going on here for once.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 12 at 2015 7:32 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 12 Sep 2015 19:32:20 -0400

Response by COL Ted Mc made Sep 13 at 2015 8:43 PM

COL Ted Mc — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 20:43:16 -0400

SSgt Alex Robinson - Staff; As an aside, no one has to pay "reparations" until AFTER they have been proven to be the actual cause of the damage.

That simply hasn't been done yet.

What most people seem to forget is that 90+% of the actual cause of "Global Warming" is from the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth.

In fact, since we have been going through a rather lengthy period of DECREASED solar energy output, a case can be made that it is the "greenhouse gases" being put out by the industrialized nations which are staving off a global ice age. (I don't say that it would be a conclusive case but it can be made.)

What concerns me more than the absolute cause of the changes in the global weather patterns is that human pollution of the atmosphere just might result in the dynamic equilibrium of the global climate reaching a "tipping point" with consequences that we simply cannot predict.

On top of that, I really don't think that it is a "Good Thing" to keep on dumping mega-tons of crap into the air that we all breathe - even if we have been doing it for a long time and it hasn't killed us yet.

Response by MSgt Erik Copp made Sep 13 at 2015 9:00 PM

MSgt Erik Copp — Sun, 13 Sep 2015 21:00:35 -0400

Absolutely not.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2015 11:52 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 11:52:08 -0400

Seriously? Those countries want US to pay for THEIR bad weather? FFS and FTLOG.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2015 3:50 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 14 Sep 2015 15:50:51 -0400

The short answer is no; this is a global problem with global responsibility. The US government is no more responsible for this than any other single entity.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 15 at 2015 12:48 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 15 Sep 2015 12:48:08 -0400

Have we not already spent enough money helping the poorer countries? I am all for helping other, and am sure anyone who has served or currently served feels the same. However, our country comes first. We are already in huge debt that we may never get out of, due to helping other countries. This needs to get in check, and our focus needs to be on our own country, and our own people. Once we get to the point that we are doing this right, we can consider going back to helping everyone else.