Americans like to think of the United States as a world leader. And, in most realms over the past century, it has been.

Not so when it comes to the environment.

The United States is among the world’s worst polluters. Worse yet, we’re arrogant about it. The U.S. thumbed its nose several years ago at the Kyoto Protocol, a blueprint for sharply reducing worldwide carbon emissions by 2012. The protocol was created based on research by many of the world’s foremost environmental experts, as well as some of the world’s most prominent statesmen.

The Bush administration refused to sign on, citing the U.S.’s desire to make unilateral decisions about environmental and commercial policies. Some, including our congressman, Mike Pence, even refuted the overwhelming body of global warming evidence.

We’ve always had that disagreeable, independent streak. Rugged individualism, going it alone. That’s part of our national character.

But the need to create a better future for ourselves and everyone on the planet demands a spirit of global teamwork. It demands that our country make tough decisions with a broad view of the future, rather than convenient decisions that protect our narrow interests.

Recently, a United Nations panel of scientists released a new report on global climate change. The report, based on exhaustive research with the best scientific backing, states categorically that all nations must work together to eliminate the use of carbon-based fuel — or we will all suffer catastrophic climate change as early as 2020.

Drought, famine, flooding, rapid spread of disease, extinction of many species. The panel says these all are imminent if immediate and widespread change doesn’t occur.

The panel’s findings lay the scientific groundwork for a new international agreement to follow the Kyoto Protocol. The U.N. says that the new plan must be in place by 2009 to save the earth from suffering the dire consequences listed above.

How important is this? The U.N. report holds that if all carbon-emitting factories and gasoline-powered automobiles were shut down today, the average sea level would still reach 4 1/2 feet higher than its pre-industrial level.

The United States must move quickly from the position of global environmental offender to global environmental leader. In the long run, it makes both environmental and economic sense to wean ourselves of fossil-fuel dependence and the political baggage that accompanies it. Our future demands it.