U.S. consuming the planet, ignoring responsibility to rest of the world

The United States proudly heralds itself as the "greatest nation in the world" and most Americans consciously or unconsciously look down on other countries who just can't raise themselves up to our standard of living. There's a reason we're "better." We're taking a grossly disproportionate share for the world's resources at the expense of the rest of the world, especially the low-income countries. The U.S. accounts for about 4% of the world's population, but we consume more than 20% of world energy consumption and are responsible for 25% of the world's greenhouse gases. Even worse, some scientists now estimate that world consumption is outpacing what the planet can produced by more than 20%. Is this the example a "Christian" nation should be setting for the world? Our nation's greed and insatiable appetite is not only at the expense of other nations but also our own future. And our "Christian" administration is doing its part to maintain the status quo. From the Associated Press:

Global warming gases grew by two per cent in the United States last year, the Energy Department reported.

The report came nine days after a United Nations conference at which the United States and China refuse to join any talks for imposing binding limits on emissions of such gases. [...]

The UN conference's Kyoto Protocol, which took effect among many countries last year despite U.S. President George W. Bush's rejection of it in 2001, had called for countries to cut their 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent by 2012.

Instead, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2012 would be nearly 25 per cent higher than they were in 1990 if they continue at the current pace of growth. The United States is responsible for a quarter of these heat-trapping gases globally.

More than 150 countries have agreed to negotiate a second phase of mandatory cuts in greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2012. India has joined the United States and China in declining to take part in it.

There will be a huge price to pay for our refusal as a country to "pay the piper."