Any news article discussing the arguments over limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that doesn't discuss per capita emissions deserves to be thrown in the waste basket. It is impossible say anything meaningful about the debate without pointing out, for example, that the United States emits approximately four times as much per person as China and about ten times as much as India. Does anyone have a good argument as to why people in the United States should have a right to emit four times as much GHG as people in China and ten times as much as people in India? If the argument exists, it has not been widely publicized. By not discussing per capita emissions, the NYT and other news outlets are concealing what is really at issue in these discussions.
--Dean Baker
