Burned.

Editor,

If Barack Obama sees climate change as an area where he can shape his legacy, he should stop exporting coal rather than sending John Kerry to scold developing economies for burning it, and he should reject the Keystone XL pipeline which will similarly facilitate tar sands oil being burned in offshore markets.

This planet is enveloped by one atmosphere. National boundaries mean nothing to it or to the biosphere as a whole. Fossil fuels extracted on American soil or transiting to American ports for export contribute every bit as much to global warming as if they were burned in the USA.

Re: "Obama Orders New Efficiency for Big Trucks" (2/19/2014)