In Kyoto Japan, rallies are being held to mark the anti-global warming treaty known as the Kyoto Protocol that officially goes into effect today after 13 years of negotiations. The global treaty aims to slow the rate of global warming by forcing nations to reduce carbon emissions. 141 countries have signed the treaty but several key nations have refused to sign it include the United States, the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. In Kyoto, Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai called on nations who are holding out to sign the agreement. She said “One of the reasons why some of the countries don’t want to support the Kyoto Protocol is exactly because they don’t want to reduce their overconsumptive life pattern.” The government of Japan also called on the United States, China and India to sign the pact. President Bush abandoned the treaty in one of his first moves as president four years ago.