During 2006, China surpassed the U.S. in CO2 emissions for the first time.  This according to a Dutch research group - reported at thestar.com.

Key excerpts:
  - "The group's analysis makes sense and had been predicted to happen by 2009 or 2010, said experts from the United Nations and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and outside academics."  China's growth and energy use are increasing more quickly than expected.  One more reason all, including the U.S., need to take decisive action now.

  - "Chinese environmental officials have said that while total emissions are going up, they are still less than one quarter of those of the United States on a per capita basis. Because China's population of 1.3 billion people is more than four times that of the United States, China spews about 10,500 pounds of carbon dioxide per person, while in the United States it is nearly 42,500 pounds per person."  The U.S. is, of course, still the per capita leader and needs to LEAD in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions -- not be obstructionists.

  - "But the issue isn't just current emissions, but carbon dioxide stuck in the atmosphere, where it lingers for about a century trapping heat below, said Jay Apt, a professor of engineering, business and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.  Apt and a colleague calculated the share of carbon dioxide now in the atmosphere that can be attributed to each country and determined that the United States is responsible for 27 per cent, European nations contributed 20 per cent and China only 8 per cent.  'The planet does not respond to emissions, the planet responds to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,' said Apt. 'It means the U.S. will have the lion's share of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere for the foreseeable future. In fact, even if China's exponential growth continues, China will not surpass the U.S. in the numbers of carbon dioxide atoms in the atmosphere, that is concentration, until at least 2050, which is too late to start anything.'"  If we're not taking actions to significantly reduce greenhouse gases, why will China?

  - "China has come under growing international pressure to take more forceful measures to curb releases of greenhouse gases.  This month, China unveiled its first national program to combat global warming with promises to rein in greenhouse gas production. While the program offered few new concrete targets for greenhouse gas emissions, it outlined steps the country would take to meet a previously announced goal of improving energy efficiency in 2010 by 20 per cent over 2005's level."  A good first step.  Bottom line, now more than ever, we need to work together.