Global Warming Money Making Machine

Well, well, well. Al Gore, the High Priest of the “Global Warming,” money making machine has won the Nobel Peace Prize. I’m not even sure how to address that, except to say, you’ve got to be kidding me. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised, they bestowed the same honor on Jimmy Carter a while back. You probably remember Mr. Carter, he was the peanut farmer from Georgia, turned president. He might have been good at growing peanuts, I don’t know. But as president, I’ll always remember him as the weakest, most pathetic, president the United States has ever had. But what do I know, I’m just an old guy. I can hardly wait to see who’s next. How about Sean Penn, Rosie O’Donnell, O.J. Simpson, or maybe Michael Moore. I know, let’s give one to Bin Laden. I mean what the hell, he’s just doing what he believes in, right? Then maybe we could all have a well deserved, group hug and just maybe, if we’re understanding enough towards his feelings, we can become friends. How about our good buddy to the south of us, Hugo Chavez or one of his American supporters like Harry Belafonte or Danny Glubber. If they keep lowering the bar to qualify, sooner or later everybody will have one. It won’t be worth anything, but it would make a really cool paper weight.
You gotta hand it to Al, he’s been a busy man. Not only did he invent the internet and brought the global warming hysteria to a theater near you. He also had a hand in bringing us a whole slew of really cool, new catch phrases. Phrases like, global warming, global warming crisis, climate change, climate crisis, CO2 emissions, carbon footprints, carbon credits, greenies, green space, green cities, green building, fossil fuels, bio-fuels, renewable energy, E-85, and tree huggers. He’s also demonstrated a certain level of hypocrisy that only a handful of men are capable of. Way to go, Al!
I noticed a sign on the front of a small bike shop in Lawrence the other day, “Save the planet, buy a bike!” Like usual, I’m probably being overly cynical, but it seems to me that the owner of this bike shop is simply using Al Gore’s hysteria to make a buck. If he were really concerned about saving the planet, instead of lining his own pocket, his sign might have read “Save the planet, ride a bike.”
How about those canvas shopping bags people are using? Instead of paper or plastic, they can say no thanks, I’m saving the planet, I brought my own canvas bag. Nothing wrong with that. But do you really believe the companies that make those bags are doing it to save the planet? No, they making them to sell for a profit. Do you really believe the grocery stores that sell these bags are doing it to save the planet? If that were the case, why do they plaster their name all over it. They use them as a way to advertise their business. You got it, they’re using these bags as a way to cash in on Al Gore’s hysteria to make a buck. My all time, favorite canvas bag story came from Los Angeles. A store out there is selling “designer” canvas bags for $960.00 apiece. Hey, if you’re going to cash in on global warming, you might as well go all out.
Again, it’s probably just me, but it looks like history is about to repeat itself. The environmental policies of the last 30 or 40 years have forced us to become dependent on foreign oil. Now the environmentalists are taking aim at those “evil,” coal fired, powered plants like the one they want to build in western Kansas. What happens if they successfully shut these plants down like they want? Will solar and wind power produce enough electricity to meet the energy demands of the future? Probably not. More than likely, we’ll be importing our electricity from Mexico. Now that’s a comforting thought.
Kevin McGinty can be reached at: kevinmcginty@sbcglobal.net