Mrs. Pelosi's Excellent Chinese Adventure

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Mars) and five other fiscally responsible Congressmen recently took a tax-payer sponsored trip to China to promote environmental responsibility. We of course remember China as the country that for a month prior to the Beijing Olympics shut down many factories and restricted use of many vehicles to clear the air in order to avoid humiliation during the Games but still remained under a thick blanket of smog. This is also the same China that arranged an exemption from the Kyoto Protocols claiming they are a developing nation while having the third largest economy on Earth.

While in China, Pelosi addressed her Chinese hosts. "Indeed, protecting the environment is a human rights issue," she said. "We hope to send a clear message that transparency, accountability, enforcement and respect for the rule of law are essential if we are to protect our planet."

Pelosi's trip came just days after the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a bill that would establish a mandatory program for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The bill requires factories, refineries and power plants to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and six other greenhouse gases by roughly 80 percent by mid-century. Concurrently, the Obama administration ordered regulation of such emissions by cars and trucks. Pelosi promised the Chinese that U.S. climate legislation will pass this year the Congress this year. To accomplish these goals, Pelosi said, "Every aspect of our lives must be subject to inventory" in the fight against man-made global warming.

Pelosi is also reported to have enjoyed the food.