The US is boycotting the Kyoto treaty

I'm not an environmental wacko, but am worried about how this will reflect upon the US's reputation internationally, especially after our snubbing of the UN about the war in Iraq.

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"The Kyoto Protocol, the landmark UN treaty on global warming, took effect Wednesday after an agonising gestation, supported by 141 nations but boycotted by the world's biggest polluter, the United States." -Tribune de Geneve, Switzerland

"After years of delays, a world plan to fight global warming came into force on Wednesday, feted by its backers as a lifeline for the planet but rejected as an economic straitjacket by the US and Australia." -India Times

(“Until such time as the major polluters of the world including the United States and China are made part of the Kyoto regime, it is next to useless and indeed harmful for a country such as Australia to sign up,” Australian Prime Minister John Howard said.)

"It has the support of 141 countries but its future is clouded by a boycott by the biggest single emitter, the United States, which by itself accounts for more than a fifth of world pollution." -Turkish Press

"The United States, the world’s largest emitter of such gases, has refused to ratify the agreement, saying it would harm the economy and is flawed by the lack of restrictions on emissions by emerging economies like China and India." ABS-CBN news, Philippines

""Some commentators blame George Bush's administration for damaging efforts to prepare for a successor to the treaty, which expires in 2012. (¶) The US, the world's largest emitter of such gases - accounting for almost one-quarter of global emissions - has refused to ratify the agreement. It had agreed to a 7% reduction before Mr Bush denounced the pact in 2001." -The Guardian, UK

""It is unacceptable that the US and Australia should renege on their commitments as negotiated in 1997, and refuse to implement the modest limitations they originally agreed to when the consequences are global in magnitude," Worthington says." -ioL, South Africa

"Under Kyoto, the targets vary by region: The European Union is committed to cutting emissions to 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2012; the United States agreed to a 7 percent reduction before US President Bush denounced the pact in 2001." -China Daily