We're Number One! We're # 1!

Here's a link to Thom Shanker's article in the New York Times titled Despite Slump, U.S. Role as Top Arms Supplier Grows.

In the article, Mr. Shanker notes:

"Despite a recession that knocked down global arms sales last year, the United States expanded its role as the world's leading weapons supplier, increasing its share to more than two-thirds of all foreign armaments deals, according to a new Congressional study.

The United States signed weapons agreements valued at $37.8 billion in 2008, or 68.4 percent of all business in the global arms bazaar, up significantly from American sales of $25.4 billion the year before.

Italy was a distant second, with $3.7 billion in worldwide weapons sales in 2008, while Russia was third with $3.5 billion in arms sales last year - down considerably from the $10.8 billion in weapons deals signed by Moscow in 2007." 

Here's a link to a Greenpeace news article titled America's Share of the Climate Crisis.

In the article, data is provided to show that:

"Historically, no nation has emitted more global warming pollution than the United States. ...

Over the past 150 years, the U.S. has emitted 328,264 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MtCO2), the primary greenhouse gas. That amounts to 29% of total global emissions. Meanwhile, no other country in the world emitted more than 8% of global emissions. China, the world's second biggest global warming pollution emitter and the favorite scapegoat of those who seek to delay action on global warming, trails far behind the U.S. with just 92,950 MtCO2 over the same time frame.

...While much attention has been paid to the rising emissions of developing nations like China and India, the per capita emissions in the U.S. and across the developed world still far exceed those nations' emissions levels. U.S. per capital emissions in 2005 were more than four times greater than China's (5.5 tons per person), and almost 14 times India's (1.7).

If the nearly 3 billion people living in India and China were to reach per capita emissions levels equivalent to the U.S., there would be no chance of us averting the worst effects of global warming. ...

The average U.S. state emitted 4,449 MtCO2 from 1960-2005, which would rank 30th among the nations of the world. The combined historic emissions of just seven states - Texas, California, Illinois, New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio - totaled 96,517 MtCO2, more than any other country in the world, including China (92,950).

If Texas were its own country, it would rank sixth out of 184 countries in the world in total emissions, trailing just China, Russia, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom."