First of all... really impressed with your degree! How dare I question someone who studies electrical circuits on the topic of climatology?!? Maybe later we can compare my MBA, JD and years of real life WORK experience and see who has a better view of how the world works, not just the inside of a commodore 64.
Listen KID, I'm glad that over in Europe you have the government to hold your hand and spoon feed you while you pursue your education. Over here in America we do it a little differently; we dont put people out of work to sign a piece of paper that is completely unenforceable, and irrational. You see, Americans work. That's why we're at the top of the economic food chain. The never ending quest to find the best goods and services at the cheapest price will always trump the importance of signing a cerimonial pollution document.
Dont get me wrong, we aren't anti-environment, we just refuse to hamstring ourselves, our income, our economy, and our lives to please the rest of the world. We continue to make strides towards a cleaner planet and our, as you put it "rich ass high-tech nation", will do it on our own through innovation and necessity. As I told you before our constant need to supply consumers with the best product will drive us to a cleaner country and planet. If the public wants hybrid cars (by the way hybrids were the fastest growing segment of the auto market this year) companies will scramble to produce them. It's the same with anything else. That's why capitalism is the only economic system that has stood the test of time, we have incentive and a vested interest to supply products, regulations, and laws that the public and consumers want. If Dodge doesn't make a hybrid, their sales will hurt. If a congressman doesn't vote for reduced coal emmissions then his chances of re-election will be hurt. If people want a cleaner planet, it will happen, but it wont happen if it's forced upon them.
I believe we have some of the most beautiful land, water and sky on the planet, and alot more of it than most every country on earth so of course we have a lot more to lose. We know this and are taking steps to ensure we dont damage or lose any of it. Just because Americans dont drink the sky-is-falling-inconvenient-truth-day-after-tomorrow kool-aid doesn't mean we don't care about the environment, we're just more realistic about it.
Oh yeah, as tempting as it is to accept your challenge of writing a paper, I think I'll pass, dork. Seriously, if that is how you debate, I'd love to see how you try and get laid. Get back to your dungeons and dragons game and let the big kids deal with the big problems...