Answer to Question 1
Energy conservation can play a major role in combating global warming by reducing the need for energy. However, by itself, it cannot solve the global warming problem, because it is probably not possible to reduce energy consumption by the amount (85) that we would need to in order to stabilize atmospheric CO2 at some reasonable level, such as 450 ppm. Energy conservation could be encouraged by imposing a carbon tax, which would make fossil fuel-produced energy more expensive.
Answer to Question 2
The Kyoto Protocol called for developed nations to cut back CO2 emissions to 5 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2012. It was signed by 182 countries but not by the U.S. The reasons for the U.S. refusal to sign were numerous, but one of them was that developing nations like China and India were not required to take action. (Also, the emissions cuts would have been more severe in the U.S. than in Europe or Russia, because the U.S. economy had expanded faster since 1990.)
A clouded leopard at the Feline Conservation Center, Rosamond, California
Global Links: African Slave Trade
Temperature gradient generates a global pattern of circulation
The demand for energy is met by burning coal and other fossil fuels
Carbohydrates Are Energy-Containing Nutrients
Global Soil Regions