The agreement is insufficient for a few key reasons. First, they neglected to set a reference date by which the emissions will be halved. Saying that you will cut emissions in half from an unknown starting point makes no sense. Second, they did not set any near term goals that will show significant steps towards the goal that is 42 years away. That is effectively "putting off" the problem for future generations to handle. Finally, China and India, the two fastest growing economies and major contributors of the world's pollution aren't even in the G8 so they are not held to this accord.

As a resident of the Bay Area, I love to see the fireworks down near Pier 39 over the San Francisco bay. This year they're having a few decent bands down there, including Big Bang Beat and Tainted Love.

I don't always find him to be funny, but I do enjoy reading his contributions for the most part. It seems like he has started to post more relevant comments and has backed away from some of his earlier "spamming" techniques of just adding ridiculous content. Of course, most of his arguments are 'collapsed' by the time I get to them anyways, so he doesn't really bother me.

I agree, there's always something to debate. Something that people will never run out of is opinions!

While I agree that oftentimes people that are wealthy had some fortunate breaks along the way, I disagree that most wealthy people are just "lucky". The people that are individually wealthy (not passed down family money) primarily had the cojones to step out on their own and try something. Rather than accepting a life of the status quo, they decided to break out on their own and take a leap of faith, and it paid off. I think that people that worked their butts off to create a new product, or new company, or new whatever really deserve their wealth. I think they do owe their country/society and should pay taxes on that so others may have the same opportunities they had, but still their work should not be dismissed as "dumb luck".

A great quote by Thomas Edison, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work" really drives this point home. Those that had the courage to take on that opportunity and the blood, sweat and tears that come along with it are oftentimes rewarded with great wealth, and I think they deserve it.