Time Magazine – Misses Their Soulmate Already

Before we leave bin Laden to his watery grave, I did want recall the few times when he spoke out on another issue dear to our hearts around here: climate change. Though bin Laden had been silent for some time—and now we may know why—in the years following 9/11 he would periodically issue video or audiotapes of his messages to the West and the world. And sometimes they went beyond simple threats of attacks, instead offering critiques of American behavior. So it was with climate change. In January 2010, in the wake of the failure of the Copenhagen summit, bin Laden added climate change—and specifically, American inaction on the issue—to his long list of grievances. From Al-Jazeera English:

In an audio tape obtained by Al Jazeera, bin Laden criticised George Bush, the former US president, for rejecting the Kyoto pact and condemned global corporations.

“This is a message to the whole world about those responsible for climate change and its repercussions – whether intentionally or unintentionally – and about the action we must take,” bin Laden said.

“Speaking about climate change is not a matter of intellectual luxury – the phenomenon is an actual fact.”

In the new recording, bin Laden says “all the industrial states” are to blame for climate change, “yet the majority of those states have signed the Kyoto Protocol and agreed to curb the emission of harmful gases.”

He continued: “However, George Bush junior, preceded by [the US] congress, dismissed the agreement to placate giant corporations. And they are themselves standing behind speculation, monopoly and soaring living costs.”

http://ecocentric.blogs.time.com