On climate change and global warming…
Yes, it’s real, yes, it’s been going on for 200 years, yes, it’s all about fossil fuels, and yes, we need to tax fossil fuels to the point where they’re no longer competitive with alternative energy sources.
And yes, nothing much at all will be done until we elect leaders who aren’t complete idiots.
Gorilla says: “Alas, we’re stuck with one political party made up of complete idiots, so it will be a while!”
Giant king crabs on the cusp of Antarctica!
No, it’s not a 50s drive-in flick, it’s yet another example of the impact brought to the planet by global warming and climate change.
Wildfires and droughts in Texas, big floods in the northeast, the hottest temperatures on record: these things are happening and we’re not doing enough to moderate the human behavior that is causing these disasters.
We need heavy taxation of fossil fuels, to make alternative energy sources more economically viable.
We need far more of the kind of measures President Obama has pushed through, like higher mileage standards for cars.
We need to see ourselves, with 4 percent of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s energy consumption, as something other than amoral, selfish, science-denying morons.
Gorilla says: “It starts with acknowledgment, continues with education, and ends with innovation!”
Today, the Murkowski “resolution of disapproval”, essentially yet another attempt by the Know Nothing Party to gut environmental policy…
As a country, the US just isn’t serious about climate change and global warming.
We no longer do shared sacrifice (look at the ongoing demonization of the unemployed) and we refuse to move on from a foolish dependence on fossil fuels.
Gorilla says: “Murkowski is as murky as an oil plume!”
Well, the report’s in about those climate scientists, the ones the Know Nothings accused of cooking their e-mails and their climate change data…
And guess what?
“Whatever was said in the e-mails, the basic science seems to have been done honestly and fairly”.
Oh yes, and the basic science said?
Global warming is real, climate change is real, and we need to start addressing the problem before it gets out of control.
Gorilla sums up: “Not that we will address the problem anytime soon, but at least there’s recognition we have a problem!”
Who knew that al-Qaeda’s reclusive leader is worried about climate change?
Well, he is and he’s angry!
Terrorist best practice for a greener world?
1) Boycott the US dollar. Everyone’s already doing that, except for the Chinese.
2) Reaffirm Kyoto. Everyone’s already given up on that one, vague promises and unpunishable targets are the lingua franca now.
Gorilla says: “When terrorists insist on terra firma, you know bipartisanship remains a pipe dream!”
Why does anyone think the US is serious about climate change and global warming?
Ethanol requires more energy, and hence contributes more to global warming, to produce a gallon of ethanol than it does to produce a gallon of gasoline.
But it is a great subsidy resource for corn farmers and the Senators who represent them.
The obvious solution to reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels is a stiff tax on carbon. Until that happens, there’s no economic viability in alternative energy development. And it’s never going to happen.
So, while it’s lovely that the world’s biggest polluter has decided to acknowledge the climate change problem, it’s a lot tougher to do anything meaningful about it. Americans aren’t into sacrifice of any kind these days.
Gorilla thinks: “The corn is as high as a pie in the sky!”
The French are imposing a carbon tax on oil, gas, and coal consumption!
Now, admittedly this is small beer in a country that gets most of its energy from nuclear (and nuclear’s not exactly great for the environment below ground), but it’s a serious attempt to deal with global warming.
The contrast with the US is stark. Here we believe only in cost-free solutions that don’t change the underlying behavior. So we craft emissions trading frauds like Waxman-Markey, rather than taxing consumption, and global warming goes on!
Gorilla is impressed by the French: “Maybe the Frogs can teach us how to frog march ourselves to maturity and a bit of sacrifice for the common good!”
The European Union waives goodbye to the incandescent bulb!
As supplies of the old bulb dwindle, they will be replaced by more energy efficient lighting, intended to reduce consumption and tackle global warming. Predictably, some hoarding of the old technology is underway.
Gorilla says: “In America, unfortunately the light at the end of our profligate energy tunnel is still controlled by some very dim bulbs!”
Shock, shock! There’s no agreement on climate change at the G-8 summit!
So, it’s back on the jets and into the limos for global leaders everywhere.
The Europeans want us to do more, we want the Chinese and Indians to do more, and so everyone does nothing more.
What’s curious to Gorilla is why our green President is now directing his regulators to pursue “speculators” who have allegedly jacked up the price of oil.
Heck, even Paul Krugman smells a rat!
Shouldn’t we be encouraging the highest possible prices for fossil fuels, rather than passing toothless frauds like Waxman-Markey?
Wouldn’t that do more to help reduce global warming and carbon consumption than any number of canapes served by the likes of Berlusconi?
There’s a new offensive in Afghanistan, in which our vaunted military seems to think that they can throw out the Taliban, and get the poppy farmers some fantastically more profitable alternative living, with a marine force less than 1/100 the size of a Soviet army that also couldn’t control the province.
We’re currently spending $600-800 billion/year on defense, roughly 15 times more than any other country, against: 1) a small band of fifth-rate terrorists we hope won’t get lucky again and/or 2) a small band of fifth-rate countries promoting medievalism and/or mass starvation.
Meanwhile, Senators are cheering themselves for getting the public health care option, whatever that may mean, down to less than $100 billion/year, while unemployment rockets towards 10%.
To pretend to combat global warming and provide national health care, we could be asking Afghan poppy farmers to supply us with cheaper opiates, helping democracy at least to fill time, the donut hole, and rows of corn with New Haven firefighters.
