Is It a Race If We’re Bound to Be Tied?

Thomas Friedman’s Aren’t We Clever? brought up some interesting points about how differently the U.S. and China have approached climate change. Instead of accepting climate change as a legitimate problem and finding solutions to address it, the U.S. spends valuable time arguing over the validity of climate change. China has long accepted the change of climate and has sought to change their economy to match. They have approached the issue by creating green jobs and industries to meet the challenges. The U.S. usually front and center when it comes to innovation, according to Friedman, but it is allowing itself to be surpassed by China. While I found his discussion of the importance of the U.S. changing laws to better suit green technology and innovation, I’m not sure I can be fully aboard with the race analogy. When it comes to climate change, the actions of one country (or inaction of the U.S.) very much affects the rest of the nations. The United States isn’t just hurting itself with its inaction toward and discrediting of climate change, it’s hurting everyone. There is no need to race towards making climate change action, if the U.S. "loses" won't we all lose? I understand Friedman’s point that the U.S. is missing out on an economic and technological opportunity, but, more importantly, we are missing the opportunity to make meaningful changes beyond shifting the focus to green industries. Because while I agree "green" technology is important, I doubt think it can save us. Technology can make things more efficient, greener, and better, but it too has its limits. In addition to greening our manufacturing, we need to make larger changes in our lifestyles to combat climate change.