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The highly-respected Lausanne-based Institute for Management Development (IMD) has just issued its 20th anniversary ‘World Competitiveness Yearbook 2008’ [see: ‘Britain slips down key economic league table’, The Times, May 14/15]. It is not a pleasant read for the UK. In this annual assessment of national competitiveness, the UK has fallen one place from twentieth, to twenty-first, having been overtaken by Israel. But, more significantly, the IMD report downgrades the UK’s position against its global rivals on the crucial factor of economic performance, from seventh out of 55 countries to an alarming sixteenth. And the cause of this decline? Yes, you...

After 18 years of a law practice devoted to counseling landowners, home builders and commercial interests affected by the long arm and severe penalties of the Endangered Species Act, I am used to incredulous looks and outraged oaths from clients coming to grips with the Act's incredible burdens on impacted private citizens. "Are you telling me I can't build my Burger King because a Delhi Sands flower-loving fly that has never been seen and is above ground only a few days a year might be near-by?" "I can't build a connector road because the noise from construction might damage the...

Evangelical pastors, scientists and policymakers have launched a petition drive intended to spread the truth about global warming: That Christians should be good stewards of God's creation and that government policies and regulations based on "faulty science" will hurt people who should be helped. "The 'We Get It' declaration speaks for me, and I believe it speaks for the vast majority of evangelicals, who are as tired as I am of being misrepresented by people who don't bother to get their theology, their science or their economics right," said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.). "Consequently, they put millions of the world's...

NORTH BEND, Wash. - John McCain on Tuesday cast Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton as latecomers to the environmental battle, saying he would be willing to debate the issue with either of them in the general election to underscore his experience with the issue. "People will trust my stewardship not only because of my background and knowledge, but also my vision for the future," he told reporters during a news conference at a nature center in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. "They have never, to my knowledge, been involved in legislation nor hearings nor engagement on...

It’s not quite Birkenstocks and tie-dyed T-shirts, but presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) has shown he’s willing to go the extra mile to embrace the global warming movement. The latest sign of that is the recently introduced “eco-friendly” campaign merchandise the McCain campaign has showcased on its Web site. Included are his and hers “Go Green” McCain embroidered polo shirts, T-shirts, hats and visors with or without the recycle logo. Organic cotton onesies for the babies. You can also find “Go Green” McCain tote bags, notebooks and travel mugs (with up to 100 percent recycled material and...

WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain called Monday for reductions in carbon emissions and criticized the Bush administration for failing to lead the fight against climate change. "We have many advantages in the fight against global warming, but time is not one of them. … We stand warned by serious and credible scientists across the world that time is short and the dangers are great," the Arizona Republican said in a speech delivered at a wind-energy facility in Portland, Ore. "The most relevant question is whether our own government is equal to the challenge." McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, proposed...

I did not listen to Rush’s entire show. The part I did here, was a “look-down-your-nose-sneer” at Senator McCain’s concern and proposals about climate change. I know this is problematical with those believing we are on the edge of a catastrophe and those who feel this is all hokum. Seemingly, faith has replaced all reason in assessing the problem. In actual fact the problem is really quite simple. What the European and other governments want to do is to hold the concentration of carbon dioxide to 450 parts per million. Presently, it is 380 ppm. At the beginning of the...

McCain Breaks with Bush on Climate Change Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speaks to employees about alternative energy sources at the Vestas Wind Technology plant in Portland, Oregon May 12, 2008. (Reuters) Updated 4:40 p.m. By Juliet Eilperin PORTLAND, Ore. -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) outlined his proposal to address climate change this morning, offering plans that would go beyond President Bush's but fall short of the bipartisan bill headed for a Senate vote next month.

The reason John McCain turned green is because he met a little boy in a penguin suit who spoke to him about global warming. This came out while she had a guest on her show named Kris, and he also said that a paper recently compared McCain's energy policy to Obama's and McCain's is 99% of Obama's so the paper of course endorsed Obama's plan. Our man is really a complete idiot.

McCain Calls Global Warming Undeniable Senator Supports Market-Based Solutions POSTED: 9:46 am EDT May 12, 2008 UPDATED: 10:00 am EDT May 12, 2008 PHOENIX -- Republican John McCain, reaching out to both independents and green-minded social conservatives, argued that global warming is undeniable and the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles. In remarks prepared for delivery Monday at a Portland, Ore., wind turbine manufacturer, the presidential contender said expanded nuclear power must be considered to reduce carbon-fuel emissions. He also set a goal that by 2050, the country will reduce carbon emissions...

PHOENIX (AP) - Republican John McCain, reaching out to both independents and green-minded social conservatives, argues that global warming is undeniable and the country must take steps to bring it under control while adhering to free-market principles. In remarks prepared for delivery Monday at a Portland, Ore., wind turbine manufacturer, the presidential contender says expanded nuclear power must be considered to reduce carbon-fuel emissions. He also sets a goal that by 2050, the country will reduce carbon emissions to a level 60 percent below that emitted in 1990. "For all of the last century, the profit motive basically led in...

(CNN) -- Kicking off a week-long push seen as outreach to independent and Democratic voters in crucial swing states, John McCain on Monday will deliver a speech outlining his vision for combating global warming. "We stand warned by serious and credible scientists across the world that time is short and the dangers are great," McCain will say in Portland, Oregon, according to prepared remarks. "The most relevant question now is whether our own government is equal to the challenge." McCain's commitment to fight global warming puts him at odds with some Republicans in Congress and with the Bush administration, which...

Civilization's last chance The planet is nearing a tipping point on climate change, and it gets much worse, fast. By Bill McKibben May 11, 2008 Even for Americans -- who are constitutionally convinced that there will always be a second act, and a third, and a do-over after that, and, if necessary, a little public repentance and forgiveness and a Brand New Start -- even for us, the world looks a little terminal right now. It's not just the economy: We've gone through swoons before. It's that gas at $4 a gallon means we're running out, at least of the...

Poorer people living in developing countries care more about the environment than those living in more prosperous countries, a global survey has revealed. They feel more responsible for man-made problems, live a greener lifestyle and are prepared to do more to reduce their own impact on the environment. It is the better-off consumers living more comfortably in developed western countries who are the worst environmental offenders, the survey found. They lead the least sustainable lifestyles because they live in bigger houses, have more cars and consume more goods and food. The United States was identified as the biggest culprit for...

It’s not quite champagne wishes or caviar dreams, but supermodel-turned-mommy Cindy Crawford is now offering tips on how to live a more environmentally conscious life. Crawford appeared on ABC’s May 7 “Good Morning America” to share with viewers something “a little less red carpet, a little more green” – her “eco-awakening.” “I mean, we’ve all have seen the Al Gore movie and green is on, it’s on top of the mind for everybody,” Crawford said. “But, it is overwhelming. I have a very full life as well, so it’s like ‘Oh, I can’t compost my own stuff.’” “But my kids...

In the community of Shady Grove Woods, trees are becoming more and more scarce. Residents and other anti-Intercounty Connector activists marched through the neighborhood on Saturday, pointing out the trees that were cut down to make way for the six-lane highway. ‘‘It’s just that we didn’t have a say in it in so many ways and we’re not talking about a two-lane road, we’re talking about a major highway running through here,” resident Sam Chim said of the ICC. ‘‘We have a lot of nice, private woods back here and now we’re going to have a highway running through instead....

Sure, you vegans thought yourselves so morally pure. But according to the Swiss government, your hands are stained with the chlorophyll of innocent beings.

Open Letter To Environmentalists Thank you for your dedication to protecting our environment. Clean air and clean water are essential to preserving life on planet Earth. Protecting all species and natural lands and forests are admirable priorities. Recycling and a green lifestyle are wonderful. Making the environment the most important thing in your life is a good thing, not a problem. I support you. But we do have a problem. You have vigorously embraced the Global Warming predictions of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and are using the warning of uncontrollable warming and a resulting environmental calamity...

Three decades have passed since the movie Jaws sent terrified bathers scrambling out of the ocean. But as any beach lifeguard knows, there's still nothing like a gory shark attack to stoke public hysteria and paranoia. Two deaths in the waters off California and Mexico last week and a spate of shark-inflicted injuries to surfers off Florida's Atlantic coast have left beachgoers seeking an explanation for a sudden surge in the number of strikes. In the first four months of this year, there were four fatal shark attacks worldwide, compared with one in the whole of 2007, according to the...

The Democrats are a political party so devoid of ideas that they can't even come up with new bad proposals and are reduced to simply reinventing their old terrible ideas. A case in point is the so-called windfall tax on oil company profits. Both Dem contenders for the presidency favor a version of this old turkey. Here's the Barack Obama flavor: Obama proposes oil companies be taxed on windfall profits from oil sold at or above 80 dollars a barrel, and the revenue be used to help relieve the burden of rising prices on working people, according to his campaign.Hillary...

In case you haven't noticed, gas prices are soaring, hiking the cost of food and just about everything else. If you believe Hillary Clinton, the blame for all this lies on the shoulders of those greedy oil companies and their bloated profit margins, a notion that like just about every other snake-oil remedy she tries to peddle is simply not the case. We're in the mess in which we find ourselves because of a small handful of people with the money and the power to inflict grievous harm on their fellow humans, whom they just happen to despise. It's about...

You just knew it was coming: At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. This is no hoax. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated. A few years ago the Swiss added to their national constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms." No one knew exactly what it meant, so they asked the Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology...

Amoebas may vomit E. coli on your greens 13:59 02 May 2008 NewScientist.com news service Ewen Callaway Harmless protozoa that live on grocery store greens can shelter deadly food pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella. A laboratory study has found that food pathogens survive being eaten by protozoa living on spinach and lettuce. The temporary asylum might help bacteria stick onto leafy greens or resist efforts to kill them before packaging. Whether the shelter the protozoa provide contributes to pathogen outbreaks, however, remains to be seen. A team led by microbiologist Sharon Berk, of Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, fed...

The investment vehicle headed by Al Gore has closed a new $683m fund to invest in early-stage environmental companies and has mounted a robust defence of green investing. The Climate Solutions Fund will be one of the biggest in the growing market for investment funds with an environmental slant. The fund will be focused on equity investments in small companies in four sectors: renewable energy; energy efficiency technologies; energy from biofuels and biomass; and the carbon trading markets. This is the second fund from Generation Investment Management, chaired by the former vice-president of the US and managed by David Blood,...

Last week, NewsBusters reported the peculiar occurrence of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich appearing alongside current Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a global warming ad funded by Nobel Laureate Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection. Included in this piece was an explanation the former Speaker offered at his website regarding this matter which sparked largely uncomplimentary reactions in the rightosphere as well as from conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Two days later, Gingrich appeared on Fox News's "O'Reilly Factor," and answered Rush (video embedded right): I disagree fundamentally with Rush on this question because I believe we have...

It’s wasn’t the first Time and it won’t be the last Time. Showing an utter disregard for ethical journalism, the editors at Time twisted American patriotism into an ad for the green movement to promote “winning the war on global warming.” Green is the new red, white and blue we are told by editors who never liked the old red, white and blue. The magazine used the historic Iwo Jima flag raising photo as a global warming marketing gimmick for its April 28 issue. The flag the Marines were raising was replaced with a tree to equate the evils our...

“The climate crisis is both urgent and solvable [so] our ultimate aim is halt global warming,” proclaims an Al Gore website and ad campaign. But conservatives, among whom former Speaker Newt Gingrich proudly counts himself, believe hardly a single word of that statement. So it’s hard to fathom why Gingrich is appearing in TV spots with Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi, promoting the campaign. In a damage control letter, Newt claims he is merely trying to engage the climate debate and keep the right relevant, without granting the left’s premise “that we have conclusive proof of global warming [or] that humans...

The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, hundreds of millions of Americans rejoiced as with a voice. And a grateful world watched in awe as the Doomsday Clock was turned back. But, what, some may wonder, ever became of the Soviet apologists here in the U.S. You probably remember these types. Telling Americans how wondrous the Soviet economy was, when it wasn’t. How much smarter the Soviet scientists were, when they weren’t. How benevolent their dictators were – even while without remorse their killing fields, gulags, State-sanctioned famines and genocides eliminated over 100 million...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- While many companies are now rushing to "go green," recent surveys show American consumers are getting turned off by the organic hype for three reasons: price, skepticism and confusion. The percentage of consumers who believe organic products are good for them is down to 45%, while those who believe they're good for the environment has fallen to 48%, according to the latest survey from consulting firm WSL Strategic Retail. Both measures stood at a 54% approval rating two years ago. Higher cost of organic products versus mass market alternatives is a primary deterrent to many consumers,...

Food: Today's headlines are filled with Americans expressing their fears of food shortages and frustration with spiraling grocery prices. As part of the solution, it's time to give genetically modified crops a try.There's much resistance to overcome, however. In the fall of 2006, Friends of the Earth publicly asked governments in the hungry African countries of Ghana and Sierra Leone to recall American food aid that contained genetically modified rice. Four years earlier, when southern Africa was tormented by famine, the U.S. offered 540,000 tons of genetically modified grain. Though the World Health Organization estimated that nearly 14 million Africans,...

With gas prices now yon-side of $3.50 per gallon, wouldn't it be great to have an extra million barrels of domestic oil flowing daily into the American pipeline? Blame William Jefferson Clinton, who vetoed a bill in 1995 that would have opened the Alaska reserves that could have been producing much-needed domestic energy today. Blame the green environmental extremists who block every effort to expand domestic energy supply, whether in offshore oil reserves, expansion of clean coal production, or the construction of new nuclear energy facilities. It's just plain dumb to allow the shortage of readily available energy to drive...

BIOFUELS – A MAN MADE DISASTER Unless you live as a hermit, you haven’t missed the rapid escalation of food prices caused by shortages in wheat, rice, corn and other grains. In many countries the price of rice has increased 70% since last year. As of February 2008, the cost of bakery flour had tripled from $14.60 per 100 lb bag in 2007 to $48.00 dollars per bag. U.S wheat production is at a 60 year low. Global wheat production is at a 30 year low. There have been riots in Haiti and Indonesia and threatened riots in other countries...

Despite outcry from veterans and supporters of the military over the cover of Time’s April 21 issue, a spokesman for the magazine insists editors did nothing wrong. The Business & Media Institute (BMI) posted a story on April 17 about Iwo Jima veterans outraged by Time’s decision to alter the iconic image of Marines raising an American flag at Iwo Jima and replace the flag with a tree. The altered image was used to illustrate a new war on global warming. “TIME has the utmost respect for our nation's veterans and we well understand the power of the iconic image...

Media: Time calls green "the new red, white and blue" and likens global warming to the fight against Nazism and fascism. As it insults World War II vets, the magazine seeks to impose a tyranny all its own.We never cease to be amazed by the inability of the left to feel shame and its lack of reverence for America and those who defend its freedoms, including the right to be stupid. The cover of the April 21 issue of Time, taking the famous Joe Rosenthal photo of Marines planting our flag on the blood-soaked island of Iwo Jima and replacing...

(TomDispatch) -- Oil at $110 a barrel. Gasoline at $3.35 (or more) per gallon. Diesel fuel at $4 per gallon. Independent truckers forced off the road. Home heating oil rising to unconscionable price levels. Jet fuel so expensive that three low-cost airlines stopped flying in the past few weeks. This is just a taste of the latest energy news, signaling a profound change in how all of us, in this country and around the world, are going to live -- trends that, so far as anyone can predict, will only become more pronounced as energy supplies dwindle and the global...

Pelosi helps launch green DNCBy David Montero, Rocky Mountain News Originally published 05:33 p.m., April 7, 2008 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to Denver this afternoon to help launch a green Democratic National Convention this summer, calling the effort a "moral responsibility." "We believe this planet is God's creation," she said. "We have a moral responsibility to protect it and this initiative does just that." The initiative is the Democratic National Convention Committee's Green Delegate Challenge. DNCC Chief Executive Officer Leah Daughtry said they set up a contest for all of the states sending delegates to the convention Aug. 25-28...

If global warming or ozone depletion or whatever, really are consequences of the actions of the human race considered collectively, but not of the actions of any given individual, including any given individual private business firm, then the proper way to regard them is as the equivalent of acts of nature. Not being caused by the actions of individual human beings, they are equivalent to actions not morally caused by human beings at all, that is to say, to acts of nature. The intellectuals were totally unprepared for the world-wide collapse of socialism that became increasingly evident in the last...

The nation's oldest and largest environmental group has set out to educate voters in New Mexico and eight other battleground states about clean energy, saying the future of the country's energy policy hinges on this year's elections. Rather than focusing on individual candidates, the Sierra Club is highlighting the successes of renewable energy production in the nine states and asking voters to consider the economic and environmental impacts of policies that depend on fossil and foreign fuels. "We're in the middle of this very exciting election cycle and we have the technology now to move beyond oil and coal, beyond...

Beginning in the mid-1980s, Greenpeace, and much of the environmental movement, made a sharp turn to the political left and began adopting extreme agendas that abandoned science and logic in favor of emotion and sensationalism. I became aware of the emerging concept of sustainable development—the idea that environmental, social, and economic priorities could be balanced. I became a convert to the idea that win-win solutions could be found by bringing all interests together around the same table. I made the move from confrontation to consensus.Environmentalism has turned into anti-globalization and anti-industry. Activists have abandoned science in favour of sensationalism. Their...

Bowing to pressure from students, Ohio State University has decided to green up its paper supply. Beginning July 1, the university will buy only recycled copy paper, saving an estimated 8,000 trees and keeping 382,000 pounds of waste out of landfills annually, according to the business office. OSU uses nearly a half-million reams of paper each year, and only 35,000 had been recycled paper, said Helen DeSantis, assistant vice president for business operations. The decision is a victory for Free the Planet, a campus group dedicated to improving the environment. Its members demonstrated on campus early last year and asked...

Leaders in the new Southern Baptist environmental movement were careful Monday to avoid criticizing fellow Southern Baptists still skeptical of climate change, while at the same time pushing them to have greater concern for the environment. Tue, Mar. 11, 2008 Posted: 14:07:05 PM EST Leaders in the new Southern Baptist environmental movement were careful Monday to avoid criticizing fellow Southern Baptists still skeptical of climate change, while at the same time pushing them to have greater concern for the environment. “This is a journey for each of us and Southern Baptists are at different points in this journey,” said Jonathan...

Wherever possible, Tina Casale switches to compact fluorescent light bulbs; she also recycles daily, rides in carpools or walks when she can, and, as a third-grade teacher, has made it a priority to ensure that global warming is a frequent topic in her science discussions. But in the eyes of some activists, Casale could be doing more to save the environment: Namely, tossing out her birth control pills. Birth control pills, like batteries and baby bottles, have become the latest item in American homes to become a focus of environmental and health concerns. As scientists debate the effects of synthetic...

The rush towards biofuels is theatening world food production and the lives of billions of people, the Government’s Chief Scientific Adviser said yesterday. Professor John Beddington put himself at odds with ministers who have committed Britain to large increases in the use of biofuels over the coming decades. In his first important public speech since he was appointed, he described the potential impacts of food shortages as the “elephant in the room” and a problem which rivalled that of climate change. “It’s very hard to imagine how we can see the world growing enough crops to produce renewable energy and...

The idea of “green” buildings is a terrific marketing concept. In San Francisco, it has helped grease the political roadway for massive, view-blocking luxury condominiums, implying that building these structures is more environmentally sustaining than leaving land vacant. Few seem to care whether green buildings can be a nightmare for those having to work inside high-rise structures lacking heat or air conditioning. The new Thomas Mayne designed Federal Building at 7th and Mission Streets in San Francisco is a case in point. Lauded by the New York Times as a building that “may one day be remembered as the crowning...

I need help. My employer is making me watch "An Inconvenient Truth" and there's no way out of it. What movie or documentary can I use to prove an opposing and rational viewpoint?

I'm not as worried about gas prices as I am wheat prices. I can ride the bus if gas gets too expensive but I can't eat my neighbors bread. If we keep taking all the corn in the country and using it for our little ethanol transportation experiment we have less corn to feed cows and less land to plant in wheat. Fewer cows get slaughtered but their are also fewer amber waves of grain to behold. The cow problem solves itself over time because we just sell the ones we have sooner at a lower price and don't breed...

A lawmaker from the Silicon Valley wants to require "climate change" to be taught as "science" in all California public schools. Warmers can't convince the adults, but they can brainwash the children. "You can't have a science curriculum that is relevant and current if it doesn't deal with the science behind climate change," says the bill's sponsor, California state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto. "This is a phenomenon of global importance, and our kids ought to understand the science behind that phenomenon." So should adults such as Al Gore, who declares the debate over even as evidence debunking the junk...

Open borders + campaign finance hypocrisy + eco-radicalism = McCain’s billionaire national finance co-chair Jerry Perenchio By Michelle Malkin • January 28, 2008 09:50 AM Scroll down for updates…meanwhile: “Romney, McCain call each other ‘liberal’… 1peren003.jpg Meet Jerry Perenchio. He’s a National Finance Co-Chair of the McCain 2008 campaign and the billionaire founder of Spanish-language media conglomerate, Univision. He also heads up a charitable foundation that has showered gobs of money on extremist green lobbying groups. Take open-borders zeal, add campaign finance hypocrisy, mix with eco-radicalism, and presto: The perfect, multiculti-profiteering McCain money buddy. Here’s his official bio on the...

(01-28) 12:52 PST LAKE TAHOE -- The president of a San Francisco green technology company was killed while skiing at the Homewood Ski Resort near Lake Tahoe, authorities said today. Tyler A. Palmer, 37, was found unresponsive at the base of a tree about 1:52 p.m. Sunday, the Placer County Sheriff's Department said. Skiers found Palmer on the Hobbit Land ski run, head-first in the well of a tree. Hobbit Land is a black diamond run, signifying it is for advanced skiers, according to the resort's Web site. Medics tried to revive Palmer, without success, and he was pronounced dead...