UPPERWEATHER.COM _{-Meteorological Musings}

I was watching C-SPAN a few weeks ago, and this oil exec was asked by a congressman, "why aren't you spending more money on creating alternative fuels". He said it in a deep authoritarian voice that would make about anyone tremble.

The Executive said something like, "uh, well, uh, we are spending quite a bit on those kinds of projects, and uh, I guess we could, uh..."

He should have said, "I am in the OIL business. We don't spend a lot on curing AIDS either. Our profits go into the exploration and extraction of more oil."

That is like asking a restaurant owner why he does not give more to grocery stores.

The whole thing is asinine. Big oil companies are not the ones responsible for finding alternative fuels. We are! The free market is. The citizens of the United States of America are responsible for it. I guarantee that any company or individual that comes up with a viable alternative energy will be handsomely rewarded by the free market. Raising the taxes on oil revenues under the guise that the money will be spent on alternative fuels makes no sense. Especially when a politicians idea of alternative fuels is putting copies of An Inconvenient Truth in every classroom.

Well another chance for Oil Company CEO's to prove themselves has emerged. Dr. James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, made a publicity stunt yesterday.

"Special interests have blocked the transition to our renewable energy future," Hansen writes in an opinion piece posted on the institute's Web site. "Instead of moving heavily into renewable energies, fossil fuel companies choose to spread doubt about global warming, just as tobacco companies discredited the link between smoking and cancer. Methods are sophisticated, including funding to help shape school textbook discussions of global warming."

I guarantee they have done no such thing. They have been extremely silent on this issue, when they really need to be out there telling the truth. So, taking advantage of their silence Dr. Hansen comes in kicking while they are down.

"CEOs of fossil energy companies know what they are doing and are aware of the long-term consequences of continued business as usual," Hansen continues. "In my opinion, these CEOs should be tried for high crimes against humanity and nature."

You see Hansen knows they are pansies. He knows that they could never be tried, because they would win. He knows that if a trial like that ever happened global warming would be on trial and it would lose. He also knows that just by saying scares people and makes them hate big oil exec's.

I say they should call his bluff! Sue him now for defamation of character. Tell him if he does not bring this lawsuit on he will get his pants sued off.

Anthony Watts has audio clips of Dr. Hansen's Diatribe

helena.40proof

and

firehorseleo