Biofuels wars to come?

[dave_2A_2.25Turbo]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7065061.stm

[Boggert]

Oh for gods sake... give me a break :roll:

[thermidorthelobster]

There are a lot of problems with biofuels - like carving out the rain forests to grow them as a cash crop, like they're doing in fair swathes of South America.

But I have to say, I think the phrase "crime against humanity" is probably a step too far  :roll:

[Range Rover Blues]

Biofules aren't grown in the areas of the worst poverty or hunger though are they?

SO the guy is a nonce and should think a bit harder before opening his pie-hole.

Discuss......

[datalas]

I think the key issue is just the choice of wording,  then again with the media in particular being guilty of watering down the language it's perhaps not entirely surprising that we now need to over emphasize everything.

For example, describing climate change as "a bit of a bother" or "pretty urgent really" won't grab any headlines, especially not when revelations such as Dumbledore being Gay, or a certain person's stubborn refusal to return from the dead being clearly more important.

Hence the government, media, and in this case the UN seem to be forever in need of coming up with more dramatic and sweeping statements to get their points heard.

To paraphrase Eddie Izzard "awesome" literally means "something which inspires a sense of awe", now to me looking down on earth from space might qualify, but it would appear that so does Craig David's new album[1].

Then again, there is a tremendous amount of irony[3] in the making here,  If we consider that it's a crime against humanity and will cause untold suffering and conflict in the "less developed" [2] areas of the world, then we'll send in Tanks, 4x4s and people in blue hats to resolve the situation, which will increase the need for biofuels.  

[1] there are a lot of words I might use to describe it, "bewildering", "rubbish", "over hyped", "self indulgent", "conceited", "minless pap" to name but a few, but not awesome :)

[2] I use the term losely

[3] perhaps not irony, but maybe a vicious circle[4]

[4] or at least a mildly irritable rectangle.

[Range Rover Blues]

I don't trust the UN anymore since I found out they had lied to the world about global warming in the first place.

[datalas]

I don't trust the UN anymore since I found out they had lied to the world about global warming in the first place.

It's not global warming, it's climate change...  global warming is *soo* 1980s

besides, global warming is a bit specific, if they go for a nice "change" word then more or less anything can be blamed on it.  "it's too hot -- ahh, climate change", "it's raining -- that'd be the climate change"

Not that I don't believe that there isn't actually a "problem" I just suspect that there's far more political posturing and pompous point scoring going on at present to actually appreciate just how serious the issue may be, and what form the "solution" should take.  Being told it's the greatest threat to mankind is one thing, as is being told we must all take "action", but aside from increasing taxes and moving bits of paper around I haven't seen that much "action", nor been told how I can help [1]


[1] Other than the obvious ones of try to use less fuel, turn things off, don't leave the heating on... All of which comes naturally to a tight fisted yorkshireman anyhoo ;)

[littlepow]

But why let the answer to a major effect to earth get in the way of more taxation and discrimination towards certain groups.

[V8MoneyPit]

I don't trust the UN anymore since I found out they had lied to the world about global warming in the first place.

Tut, tut, my friend..... I think the correct phrase is 'climate change'  :roll: It says something when the powers that be cannot make up their minds about whether its acually getting hotter or colder  :roll:


Edit: Oops, you beat me to it Datalas!

[Range Rover Blues]

Glabal warming, it's the greatest threat to mankind since the ice age they were threatening us with in the 1970s :lol:

The biggest cause is solar flares, they go in cycles and the cylce we're on isn't diminishing like it 'should' so the earth is getting hotter.

But Mars is getting hotter too, and we havn't been driving up there much recently.

Solar cycles also go in cycles, during the middle-ages it was hotter on earth than it is now, Greenalnd is so-called because it was lush and verdant, cattle grased there.

The UN decided to lie to us all about historical data that proves glabal warming happened long before the invention of the infernal combustion energy, four wheel drive or patios that needed heating.

So I suspect it's vastly over-emphasised by people who need to look important because they bleat on about the greatest threat to mankind, and tree-huggers who jusy want everytning banned becasue it looks like fun and they weren't invited to join in.

[V8MoneyPit]

But Mars is getting hotter too, and we havn't been driving up there much recently.

Oh no  :shock: You mean the human race is pumping out sooo much nasty stuff, it's affecting climates of other planets????  :lol:

[datalas]

But Mars is getting hotter too, and we havn't been driving up there much recently.

Oh no  :shock: You mean the human race is pumping out sooo much nasty stuff, it's affecting climates of other planets????  :lol:

Think about it... it's electric cars...

Earth has them and gets hotter, we send one to mars and it gets hotter....


Errr... although, this is probably a serious issue guys perhaps we should treat it as such [1]



[1] As I'm sure my SO may testify to, I'm not all that good at being serious and have a tendency to make a joke out of some things.

[Range Rover Blues]

What a lot of tree hugging types seem to have forgotten is just how insignificant the human race really is in the great scheme of things.  Probably becauseof their own over-inflated opion of themselves.

[V8MoneyPit]

What a lot of tree hugging types seem to have forgotten is just how insignificant the human race really is in the great scheme of things.  Probably becauseof their own over-inflated opion of themselves.

The landowner where we have our business is a bit that way inclined and I suggested that I found it rather big headed on the part of humans to think they have even the slightest impact on nature. He wasn't amused  :lol:

[redhand]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7065061.stm

And the report that the BBC quoted http://www.righttofood.org/A62289.pdf which when read isn't quite as bad as they make out. Basically what he seems to be saying is that land that used to be used for food crops is been used to grow crops to provide biofuels (mainly to North America) This is pushing up the price of food crops and poor people can't afford to buy enough food to live on. which is against the UN constitution on the right to food. It doesn't really have much to do with Global Warming/Climate Change.