War of Wits

You’ve got to hand it to Al Gore…

This shyster has managed to make a fortune convincing 3/4 of the population of the entire world that we’re all going to die in less than 100 years because of human-induced global warming while simultaneously managing to consume 10 times the energy of the average human.

Even though science is still debating such lofty theories as Einstein’s General Relativity and the exact details and catalysts of Darwin’s Evolution, Gore and his disciples have closed the book on global warming. According to them, global warming is the one theory that is no longer subject to debate and if you question it, you’re just simply wrong or an imbecile.

That’s what you get when politics is allowed to invade science. Narrow-minded “experts” who are afraid to have their theories subject to debate or scrutiny. Honest scientists free from the constraints of politics would subject Gore’s cockamamie theories to the breaking point to see if they’ll stand up over time as our understanding of Earth’s climate increases. I doubt that will ever happen. Instead the True Believers will continue to marginalize and attack anyone who disagrees.

But let’s forget about global warming itself for a moment. It isn’t nearly as significant a threat as Gore’s alarmist junk science. His vapid emissions about our impending doom unless we scrap the internal combustion engine and incandescent  bulb have set in motion a chain of events that could kill far more people, far more quickly than the effects of climate change.

Most thinking people can agree that continued reliance on foreign oil (really any oil) is not feasible. Nor is it in our long-term national interest. The global oil market is subject to the fanciful whims of OPEC, the impact of speculators seeking profits and the growing demand from countries with burgeoning industry, such as China. We have no choice but to seek cleaner, more efficient and sustainable sources of fuel , or our transportation and commerce will sputter to a halt.

Cleaner burning ethanol and other bio-fuels made from corn, sugar beet and sugar cane have been touted as the cure for our gasoline glut. But bio-fuels are not the answer. Considering that 70% of the Earth’s surface is water, it is extremely doubtful there is enough land on the planet suitable to grow enough crops to produce enough bio-fuels to make a significant dent in the problem of global warming if it is as bad as Gore says.

Due to the explosion of hybrid car sales, Gore’s speeches and the brainwashing that Congress has received from concentrating too intently on them, global demand for bio-fuels made from corn and sugar cane has skyrocketed. As a result, farmers all over the globe have switched from traditional food crops such as wheat and rice to to those that generate the most cash; corn, sugar cane and others that can be converted to bio-fuels.

Corn is used in cereals and many other foods that humans eat as well as livestock feed. The price of that feed affects the price of beef, pork, dairy and eggs. Add increased delivery charges because of historically high fuel costs and pretty soon a balanced breakfast will be out of reach, even for Americans. But this affects more than just breakfast and more than just Americans. It has a ripple effect through the world’s food supply and production systems.

• It affects every product made from corn, such as corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup and cornstarch, to name just a few. These products are used in the production of literally millions of other products such as cooking oils, candy, cookies, cereals, soft drinks, baked goods and snack foods.

• It affects livestock feed and every agricultural product connected with it. Beef, pork, chicken, eggs, butter, cheese and all other dairy products and all of the product made from those. The price of a gallon of milk has seen dramatic price spikes recently.

• It affects sugar cane, raw and processed sugar and every product that you buy that contains any form of sugar. That includes virtually every cookie, cake, candy and sweet snack that you can think of.

But those price spikes are only a result of the costs of corn and sugar. And those costs are due to increased demand. But let’s look at the other side of the equation, that of supply; specifically, what happens when that supply dwindles.

With the fanfare surrounding bio-fuels and what they can do to combat global warming, the amount of other staple crops such as wheat and rice that are grown in the US –and indeed throughout the world– is dwindling. Many US farmers are still subsidized by the government not to grow crops. Many others have adopted wind farms. Still others have switched to corn and other crops that can be converted to bio-fuels. this means less and less wheat and rice, which in turn further drives up the price of those products and everything else derived from them; virtually every type of bread and baked good made from wheat or flour.

And if people in the US are struggling to put food on the table, the problem has most certainly had a much worse effect on poorer countries already. While Al Gore gets rich off of his global concert series, speeches and movie proceeds, people around the globe struggle just to eat. And not just poor Africans. The problem is now affecting countries that have middle classes, suggesting that it could be tied to the hysteria surrounding global warming an search foe alternative fuels.

We haven’t even experienced any direct effects from global climate change other than some observations of melting ice at the poles and the migratory paths of some animals. At this point, there isn’t even any proof there will be global climate catastrophe, just a bunch of vapors emanating from Al Gore and some UN scientists. But we are already experiencing the drastic effects of policy decisions made in support of global warming theory.

Liberals are incessantly droning on about how US policies are hurting poor people in other countries. And now, because of Al Gore’s alarmist rhetoric, we have liberal policy-makers on a quest to save the planet by adopting bio-fuel standards that could result in the starvation of thousands overseas because we need cleaner, cheaper sources of fuel.

Is the glutting of corn really morally superior to the glutting of oil? Can anyone say hypocrisy?