OH, THOSE SUPERIOR EUROPEANS – AT 8:47 A.M. ET:  Yes indeed, yes indeed, there's cheerful news from old Europa.  The Washington Post can't wait to tell us:

These days, the news about Europe tends to be unrelentingly negative, so here’s something slightly different. The European Union is still on track to meet its climate-change goals under the Kyoto Protocol, according to new data released Wednesday.

I'm just so moved. 

Under the Kyoto treaty, 15 European Union countries committed to reducing their overall greenhouse gases 8 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. (The other countries have individual targets, save for Malta and Cyprus.) Even though the continent’s emissions grew in 2010, thanks to a brief economic recovery and a cold winter, the E.U.-15’s emissions are still 11 percent below 1990 levels overall.

There's plenty of data in these charts from the European Environment Agency. Between 1990 and 2012, some countries, like Germany and Denmark, have reduced their carbon emissions by quite a bit, which has offset rises in countries like Spain and Portugal.

COMMENT:  Now, a question:  Do these environmentally obsessed Europeans understand that, if their economies continue collapsing, there won't be any issue with carbon emissions because production will crumble, incomes will crumble, many cars will be permanently garaged...and the air will be so pure that even the starving masses will be eager to breathe it?  Do they understand that?

We applaud the zealousness of the purifiers.  But if Europe doesn't solve its economic problems, and confront the mentality of its nanny states, all the carbon reduction planned will not save its civilization.

May 31, 2012