Global warming: it's complicated

As Rich Lowry reminded us yesterday:

"...there's China. It has passed the U.S. as the world's leading emitter of carbon dioxide, and it accounted for two-thirds of the increase in the world's emissions in 2007. Global action against global warming makes little sense without China taking part, and it won't. If we can't get China to quit jailing dissidents and arming a genocidal Sudan, what hope is there of getting it to stop something -- rapid economic development -- that's otherwise unobjectionable? With hundreds of millions of Chinese people living in abject poverty, the country's economic growth is one of the world's most important initiatives against human misery."

And yet many in the environmentalist movement single out the United States for criticism when it comes to global warming. Such foolishness.

Global warming town criers who leave big carbon footprints dept

This time it's New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, who's been loudly sounding the alarm concerning the danger of global warming lately: "Our correspondent notes Friedman's address and comments on his home outside Washington, D.C.: 'I lived within shouting distance of Friedman. Take a look at the carbon footprint this guy leaves. He lives on about seven acres -- it was once the home site of a prominent Washington attorney...The house sits on a hill with a great view and a western exposure. Friedman bought the house from the late lawyer's family about five years ago, tore down the huge older house and constructed an [over 11,000] square foot residence, with 7.5 bathrooms, on the hilltop. It is beautifully landscaped, as you can tell from the aerial/satellite photographs, and the foliage likely requires a lot of water. The property is listed on the tax rolls for [well over $9,000,000]. It makes me feel better that those who preach environmentalism practice such a modest intrusion on the environment itself.'
Of course, there's a lot of that going around these days. And we haven't yet had time yet to observe whether Friedman's raised consciousness will result in a reduction of his carbon footprint now that Friedman has been given to understand the end is nigh.


And don't forget how many writers on the other side of the aisle have complained about conservatives supposedly supporting a war in which they won't fight.

Enviro-wackos

Australian version: "A WEST Australian medical expert wants families to pay a $5000-plus "baby levy" at birth and an annual carbon tax of up to $800 a child. Writing in today's Medical Journal of Australia, Associate Professor Barry Walters said every couple with more than two children should be taxed to pay for enough trees to offset the carbon emissions generated over each child's lifetime."

I wonder, if Prof. Walters has children of his own, is he offering to pay "back taxes" on them. Hmmmm....

Leavin', on a bunch of jet planes...

Jet-fuel-guzzling environmentalists are, that is, heading to their latest global warming conference: "Never before have so many people converged to try to save the planet from the catastrophic effects of global warming, with more than 10,000 jet-setting to Indonesia's resort island of Bali, from ministers to Nobel laureates to drought-stricken farmers."

As Instapundit said, you can't make this stuff up.

Global warming update

Falsehood alert: for quite some time now, there's been a lot of talk from environmentalists about how the cars Americans drive are big gas-guzzlers which leave too much of a "carbon footprint." John Edwards just the other day said Americans ought to be willing to "sacrifice" their SUVs (I wrote about it here). Problem: abandoning, say, a Hummer in favor of, say, a Prius won't get the job done, despite what everybody says. George F. Will addressed this issue a couple of months ago. Quote: "Speaking of Hummers, perhaps it is environmentally responsible to buy one and squash a Prius with it. The Prius hybrid is, of course, fuel-efficient. There are, however, environmental costs to mining and smelting (in Canada) 1,000 tons a year of zinc for the battery-powered second motor, and the shipping of the zinc 10,000 miles -- trailing a cloud of carbon dioxide -- to Wales for refining and then to China for turning it into the component that is then sent to a battery factory in Japan. Opinions differ as to whether acid rain from the Canadian mining and smelting operation is killing vegetation that once absorbed carbon dioxide. But a report from CNW Marketing Research ("Dust to Dust: The Energy Cost of New Vehicles from Concept to Disposal") concludes that in "dollars per lifetime mile," a Prius (expected life: 109,000 miles) costs $3.25, compared with $1.95 for a Hummer H3 (expected life: 207,000 miles)."

Welcome, All Things Conservative readers...

...and my thanks to Bill Crawford for the link back. You know, All Things Conservative is a daily must-check for many reasons, but two good ones are: 1] his coverage of the good-news-from-Iraq-that-the-MSM-won't-tell-you (about which many of you may already be familiar, from his National Review Online columns); AND his excellent expose of the hypocrisy, falsehoods, and over-hype coming from the global-warming enthusiasts. You can find an excellent example here.