Why the U.S. Is So Far Behind the Brits on Climate Change

By Sarah Stillman, Truthdig. Posted March 14, 2007.

While America is still begrudgingly coming to terms with the climate crisis, British politicians, scientists and newspapers have been shouting from the rooftops for years. So why is the U.S. so far behind its closest ally?

Nothing screams "I (heart) global warming" quite like a romp around Capitol Hill in your bikini top at Christmastime. I speak from experience; this past holiday season, high on Coppertone and early-blooming cherry trees, I found myself all too eager to tryst with the infamous 21st-century menace--never mind that he'd recently melted the heart of the Ayles Ice Shelf, screwed 2,000 polar bears in the Beaufort Sea and sweet-talked the pasty male congressional interns into prematurely bearing their chests on the National Mall in January. Do I regret my indulgence? No. Have I repented? Yes. My cure? A blustery island called Great Britain.