Monday, October 22, 2007

Oh, Those Insane Bankers And Their Hatred Of America

Since I was recently schooled in what a load of crap global warming is, I was so surprised to hear this story on NPR this morning. Who would have thought that Robert Zoellick and the World Bank were such dupes? I mean where's the evidence that Global Warming even exists, let alone poses a threat to stability and peace, right? It's all about Al Gore's ego and junk science that I was told by an authoritative source was junk. Who should I believe, after all? A blogger from Chicago or development experts from the World Bank? Sheesh.

Let's listen in on these deluded people talk about the "effects" of non-existent global warming:
Laura Tucker, who directs the bank's sustainable development program for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the bank has made addressing problems caused by climate change one of its top priorities in the last year.

Latin America and the Caribbean are among the regions where development experts fear climate change could undo decades of efforts to fight poverty. She used Peru as an example because the country depends on melting glaciers for water and hydroelectric power in the winter. She said the glaciers could be gone in 25 to 40 years.

The bank is using new, advanced mapping and modeling techniques to help the country understand what is coming and how to prepare.

Wow. A country that relies on melting glaciers that will be gone, perhaps in my lifetime, certainly within my childrens' lifetime. I thought there was no evidence that people took seriously . . .
David Wheeler, of the Center for Global Development, said the bank is also grappling with new scientific findings on how climate change will affect poor farmers and food supplies.

"Losses in agricultural productivity during the next 70 to 80 years in major regions of the developing world will be enormous, possibly as high as 50 to 60 percent in some regions," he said.

The bank is now revamping its programs, factoring climate change into everything from seed research and irrigation to city planning and road building.

In the past year, its spending on renewable energy and energy efficiency has jumped 67 percent. This month, it launched a new fund that will pay poor people not to cut down trees.

Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change, said this will be crucial.

"Cutting down trees — deforestation — actually accounts for about 20 percent of the green house gas emissions we, human beings, are responsible for," de Boer said.

Yikes! More evidence? More data?

Could it be that it isn't Al Gore who is the asshole?

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