OK Kiddies -- Die for Gaia!

This is very disturbing. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has a website aimed at kids which helps them (i) calculate their carbon footprint so that they can (ii) decide when they have to die. (HT Rachel Lucas)

I think this global warmongering is getting out of control. Do I think the planet has gotten hotter -- well yes, it seems that way.

Do I think human activity effects the environment? Of course it does . Often human manipulation of the physical environment is a good thing. It has turned deserts into farms and swamps into livable space.

Do I think human activity has caused all of the current environmental changes? No. History shows us that climates often change. And climates on other planets even show signs of changing.

So do I think we should do nothing? Of course not. Reducing carbon emissions in and of itself is probably a good thing and of course we need to protect the environment. I do not want to pave over Monument Valley nor do I wish to live in smog ridden world. Further, as a Catholic, I believe in environmental stewardship.

But there needs to be some sanity injected into this debate. If not, people will tune out the increasingly shrill and silly alarmism. Economic effects also need to be taken into account -- given the choice between their job and a pristine planet, people will choose their job. Finally, those stars and politicians who are crying the most about carbon footprints should start acting as those they really believed what they are saying -- people will not stand being lectured about global warming by jetsetting movie stars with their own personal 707.