Frontlines

Moscow's ratification of the Kyoto protocol could pose problems for the United States.

It could mark the biggest bungle of the last two administrations-the decision to walk away from the Kyoto Protocol rather than stay and negotiate to U.S. advantage. No one thought Russia would sign and put the treaty in force. But now that Russia's ratification appears imminent, policy wonks in America are scrambling to assess the impact.

In our August issue, attorney Peter J. Fontaine laid out in stark detail what Russia's ratification could mean for energy prices, and how the World Trade Organization (WTO) could force the United States to comply (). And many other analysts now appear to agree, predicting that Kyoto's enactment could prove painful for the United States, owing largely to our discordant state and federal environmental rules.