Is This The End of the American Century?

This site features updates, analysis, discussion and comments related to the theme of my book published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2008 (hardbound) and 2009 (paperbound).

The Book

The End of the American Century documents the interrelated dimensions of American social, economic, political and international decline, marking the end of a period of economic affluence and world dominance that began with World War II. The war on terror and the Iraq War exacerbated American domestic weakness and malaise, and its image and stature in the world community. Dynamic economic and political powers like China and the European Union are steadily challenging and eroding US global influence. This global shift will require substantial adjustments for U.S. citizens and leaders alike.

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

U.S. #1 in Cumulative Carbon Emissions

This is why the developing countries are unhappy about U.S. insistence that they cut THEIR carbon emissions!.



See scientist James Hansen's Newsweek article on "Power Failure: Politicians Are Fiddling While the Planet Burns" where he writes that "Planet earth is in imminent peril." We now have evidence, he continues "that continued exploitation of all fossil fuels on Earth threatens not only the other millions of species on the planet but also the survival of humanity itself--and the timetable is shorter than we thought."

While Hansen supported the election of Barack Obama, he now believes that in terms of climate change, "President Obama does not get it" and that he and his advisers have caved to pressure from monied interests.

"Civil resistance may be our best hope," he concludes.

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2 comments:

R. D. Shelton said...

While tree huggers obsess about retreating glaciers, your book makes a convincing case that America's position in the world is melting even faster. I think President Obama ir right to invest his political capital first in trying to arrest America's decline, with initiatives like containing healthcare costs.

David S. Mason said...

While I agree that health care urgently needs fixing, I also think that climate change is critical and urgent. This is the crux of the crisis facing the U.S: we have delayed addressing ALL of these problems--health care, climate change, education, poverty, inequality, infrastructure, etc. And now that we are finally getting around to addressing them, we are bankrupt!