Ecological Indulgences

"Ecological Indulgences" That's what Charles Krauthammer called the practice of the rich buying "carbon credits" in offset their wasteful lifestyles. God forbid the wealthy actually ride a bus to get anywhere, or turn off their heated pools, or sweat at any time except when they work out on their expensively produced and energy consuming exercise equipment! Perish the though of Gore cutting back the energy consumption of his own home (one month's energy bill for him is about 20 times one of our energy bills for a YEAR).

The Carbon Credit business is a total scam that is thriving on the guilt of the wealthy. They can somehow "buy" their way out of global warming. HA! All the while the real work of ecological change is being done by those who live the simplest - the poor. It's hard to waste energy when you can't afford to keep your lights on for long. It's mighty hard to blow horrible carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when you can't even afford a car and have to walk, bike, or ride a bus everywhere.

Krauthammer's article also demonstrates the negative effect "carbon credits" have on developing countries, citing the forcible taking of farmland so "carbon credit" trees can be planted. From the article:

GreenSeat, a Dutch carbon-trading outfit, buys offsets from a foundation that plants trees in Uganda's Mount Elgon National Park to soak up the carbon emissions of its rich Western patrons. Small problem: expanding the park encroaches on land traditionally used by local farmers. As a result, reports the New York Times, "villagers living along the boundary of the park have been beaten and shot at, and their livestock has been confiscated by armed park rangers." All this so that swimming pools can be heated and Maseratis driven with a clear conscience in the fattest parts of the world.

The liberal infatuation with environmentalism is proving to be a hypocrisy. And why should concern about the environment be an exclusively liberal issue. I'm an unabashed conservative - in our household we use a wood stove for heat so we don't burn too many dinosaurs, we ride our bikes, live simply and are not consumed by greed and "keeping up with the Jone's". My kids don't vegetate in front of video games, nor are they inoculated from life by i-pods and other such devices. We use an energy efficient evaporative cooling system, and recycle cans. All this while the liberal wealthy purchase and travel to excess and buy 'carbon credits' to "offset" their indulgent lifestyles.

If they want to spend their money on excesses, let them go ahead. But puh-leeze don't put on the self righteous pall of concern about the environment while you do. BE HONEST!

Cowering for Research Money?

Does this Cox and Forkum cartoon demonstrate one reason why more scientists are not coming forward against the cult of global warming???

The view of adherents of Global Warming is narrow and non scientific. They call those who question their views "deniers" while they are unwilling to follow their own scientific training to verify all scientific evidence that exists. Why don't they look into the influence of the sun's solar maximum cycle on global warming? Is it because they have chosen an agenda to follow? Are they trying to give scientific justification to their political views? I don't believe science should be either right or left wing politically, but should be a continuing search for quantitatively and independently verifiable truth. It should be completely seamless from political view to another; you should not be able to discern a scientist's politics from their research. Science wants to know what is true, not what is politically expedient. Scientists should never have their research grants withheld or ever have their reputations be threatened just because they are researching an arena that is not the current political "fad."

Global Warming Extremists are more religious and political figures than they are scientists. What they believe has only partial proof and is more of a fantasy, like the "Global Cooling" hype of the 70s. What if they put their efforts into developing cleaner, low cost forms of energy? Wouldn't this be much more productive (and even profitable)? Then their work would have a more significant impact on the global ecology.

UPDATE:

Here is an article from Real Clear Politics by Thomas Sowell discussing the Channel 4 documentary "The Global Warming Swindle".