The Talk of the Town?

The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town:

The imminence of catastrophic global warming may be a subject far from the ever-drifting mind of President Bush—whose eschatological preoccupations privilege Armageddon over the Flood—but it is of growing concern to the rest of humanity. Climate change is even having its mass-entertainment moment. “Ice Age: The Meltdown”—featuring Ellie the computer-animated mammoth and the bottomless voice of Queen Latifah—has taken in more than a hundred million dollars at the box office in two weeks. On the same theme, but with distinctly less animation, “An Inconvenient Truth,” starring Al Gore (playing the role of Al Gore, itinerant lecturer), is coming to a theatre near you around Memorial Day. Log on to Fandango. Reserve some seats. Bring the family. It shouldn’t be missed. No kidding.

No way. Near as I can tell, most of the major leaders in the environmental movement are morally bankrupt, as in they don't mind a stretch or two with the truth. Few (none?) of their predictions pan out. Kyoto was/is/ever will be a joke. (If it was so damn important, why didn't Clinton/Gore really push for its ratification? Why blame Bush for what they put on the way back burner? Food for thought.)

There is still argument about global warming, no matter what Gore & Co. may say/scream/rant/kant. Even if the grant the notion, there is no solid evidence linking that to human activity. I'd feel a lot better about the global warming rant if they focused on how to cope with the alleged warming, rather than continually saying that the US must be destroyed (at least economically).

But no, their focus on the US changing the fundamentals of its society betrays the goal. Strange how all the major environmental movements are -- to be generous -- socialist in orientation.

Again, the goal isn't to "save" the environment. Consider that Kyoto adopts a "per capita" measure for the production of greenhouse gases. By that measure, China isn't even in the same league as the US. But if you measure actually tonnage of greenhouses gases produced, China is second only to the US, is expected to catch the US in the next few years, and will exceed in the US after 2010. And tonnage should be the focus, because if man-made greenhouses gases really are the cause of global warming, then the planet just doesn't give a fig about how much gas is generated per person; it cares about total tonnage, of which China (and India) produce a lot.

Yet China is exempt from Kyoto.

The Kyoto Accord is a farce and that Gore et al keep braying about Bush's refusal to sign tells me more about them than him.

So no. I thank you, but no, and yet still I thank you, but again no, I shall not pay to see Gore bray on.