Just days before the US presidential elections, Superstorm Sandy took its toll on the northeastern coast of the United States of America. President Obama proclaimed that “climate change is not a hoax”, it is a reality that needs attention and action. Just weeks later, the US delegation to the Doha conference declined yet again to join the international community in their effort to extend the Kyoto Protocol. They were not alone. China and India refused to budge from their oft-stated positions. Russia alienated itself from just about everybody by not only standing aside but launched a verbal assault on the host for trying to do his job.

In school, seniors are expected to lead by example. That is clearly not the case on the world stage today. The mantle of leadership has fallen on that much-abused collective, the international community, the vast majority of the smaller and the ...