There is a need for a long, loud public debate, not only concerning the cause behind a warming climate, but a realistic look at the consequences of such change. The last warm period, which ended around 1200-1300 AD, was accompanied by the flourishing of mankind due to an abundance of food promoted by longer growing seasons.
Today, in a similar (but not yet as warm) period of warmth, we (the U.S.) are increasing corn and wheat production while poor nations, with starving populations – a major factor in the Middle East unrest – watch in horror as we put 4 of every 10 bushels of corn into our gas tanks. The key to those nations rising from poverty, indeed to economic prosperity worldwide, is cheap, abundant energy. And, they need it now. There is little proof that humans can accidentally, or deliberately, alter the earth’s climate. We do have the intellectual capacity to adapt, innovate and take advantage of the current climate. Man does not do well under cold climate conditions. We shouldn’t squander our chance to return to being the world’s “bread basket” by giving in to the” wealth-redistribution” agenda posed by the global warming crowd.
Jim Barber
Camp Verde
Mr. Barber, You’re making the mistake of presuming that the “greens” don’t view the starvation of 3rd world peoples as one of the ‘benefits’ of bio-fuels and a key aspect of “climate change” mitigation.
This is indeed the hidden agenda. Mass starvation to cull the world’s population without the use of gas chambers. One could claim ‘unknown’ / ‘unintended’ consequences. There will be Nuremberg style trials.
Food to fuel is the most disgusting part of the monumental scam. Even George Monbiot agrees.
“An Agricultural Crime Against Humanity” – Monbiot
http://www.monbiot.com/2007/11/06/an-agricultural-crime-against-humanity/
There will be trials. Those that first raised this false alarm and adjusted temperatures will be first on the rosta.
I think that guys like Michael Mann are cognizant of their culpability. That is why he’s running around trying to sue everyone.
The real horror will take place when the next severe drought hits the US corn belt and production is cut by 5 billion bushels. These droughts hit periodically, the last severe on was in 1988
A repeat of the Dust Bowl droughts of 1930, 1933, 1934 and 1936 would probably be catastrophic. In 1936, the US was importing grain!
“Finally, there seem to be but three Ways for a Nation to acquire Wealth. The first is by War as the Romans did in plundering their conquered Neighbours. This is Robbery. The second by Commerce which is generally Cheating. The third by Agriculture the only honest Way; wherein Man receives a real Increase of the Seed thrown into the Ground, in a kind of continual Miracle wrought by the Hand of God in his favour, as a Reward for his innocent Life, and virtuous Industry.”
~Benjamin Franklin
He forgot Green Jobs. 😉
(And entitlement programs. And the public sector.)
Ben Franklin vs. Karl Marx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnvYAbRMw5g
Not only are we pouring a sizable portion of our grain output into our gas tanks (at a lower btu output), but we are paying subsidies to do it. At the same time, some of the most productive farmland in America is destroyed in the name of a little fish called a smelt (thanks Nan). The ______ that are doing this ______ will always have food. The unfortunates that need it will suffer the lingering death of malnutrition and starvation. Some of these _______ need to see the suffering first hand, not just on the TV or in sanitized reports. ___________ !!! (feel free to fill in the obscenity of your choice).
More Fuel vs. Food nonsense. Skeptics and Alarmist certainly have found their common ground with this one. Makes everyone feel all nicey-nicey.
Just one problem. None of the claims are true. Ethanol merely uses the starch. These bushels of corn are grown on soybean acres. These soybean acres only produce a tiny average of 40 bushels per acre. The missing bushels, compared to corn’s 60 bpa, is starch.
Do you get that, ethanol bashers? Either an acre of land is used to grow soybeans without the starch, or it is used to grow corn with starch which will end up as ethanol. Either way, no human food was ever destined to be delivered. The soybean meal is replaced by the distiller’s grain, gluten meal, gluten feed, corn germ and yeast protein.
It’s amazing how this argument can go on so long without the accusers actually informing themselves with basic agronomics.
There’s even more to it than that.
First, most corn goes to feed livestock anyway, not directly to the supermarket. A lot of it also gets used to make that “corn sweetener” you find in just about everything you buy in the supermarket. What do both of these processes have in common? They use the starch and leave the protein behind. One of the main reasons for feeding corn to livestock is the high protein content needed to increase muscle mass. So guess what enterprising businesses do? They take the leftover protein and use it as a supplement for livestock feed. So a lot of that corn gets right back into the food supply.
Second, both in the US and other countries, farmers are paid to “set aside” acres of land and not plant. This is done because otherwise there would be a glut of corn hitting the market.
Which brings up the final point. We produce more than enough food to feed everyone in the world. The problem isn’t a shortage of production. The problem is if you have no money, you can’t buy food regardless of how cheap it is. Even if the food was free, you couldn’t pay to have it delivered. Production isn’t the problem, its delivery.