Bush won’t leave much of a legacy at G-8

Loory: We read a lot about President Bush trying to leave a legacy, something he can gloat about after he leaves office. Legacy-building now involves talking North Korea out of a nuclear weapons building program, or supplying medicines and food at a low cost to the poor of African nations. The president can add to that campaign the agreement of the G-8 nations, the world’s most prosperous countries, to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by the year 2050. The G-8 countries — the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan — made that agreement last week at a summit on the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. While in office, Bush has led the U.S. into two wars, has watched the economy tumble into what many economists are calling a recession, has seen energy prices skyrocket, and has seen the dollar drop to a value so low it is no longer considered the world’s most desirable currency. In light of that, how important is cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and what is the cut all about?