The Cloud ‘O’ Death

Sometimes you run across a story that makes you look at an issue in an entirely different way. For some of you,: this: may be one of those types of stories’

“A two-mile-thick cloud of pollution shrouding southern Asia is threatening the lives of millions of people in the region and could have an impact much further afield, according to a U.N.-sponsored study.

“It said the cloud, a toxic cocktail of ash, acids, aerosols and other particles, was damaging agriculture and changing rainfall patterns across the region which stretches from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka.

“The lives of millions of people were at risk from drought and flooding as rainfall patterns were radically altered, with dire implications for economic growth and health.”

Notice that they said the evil, toxic, ‘Cloud ‘O’ Death’ is over Asia, not the United States. So while we have environmental whackos claiming that the United States is the prince of environmental darkness because of global warming which may or may not even exist, Asia is belching up clouds of death-smog with minimal comment. Furthermore, this isn’t something that ‘might be’ a threat in 50 years if the environmentalists haven’t changed their minds and decided that the planet is cooling instead of warming again, this pollution is causing big problems right now.

‘There are also global implications not least because a pollution parcel like this, which stretches three km high, can travel half way round the globe in a week.” …The report calculated that the cloud ‘ 80 percent of which was man-made ‘ could cut rainfall over northwest Pakistan, Afghanistan, western China and western central Asia by up to 40 percent.

Apart from drastically altering rainfall patterns, the cloud was also making the rain acid, damaging crops and trees, and threatening hundreds of thousands of people with respiratory disease.

Nobel laureate Paul Crutzen ‘ one of the first scientists to identify the causes of the hole in the ozone layer and also involved in the U.N. report ‘ said up to two million people in India alone were dying each year from atmospheric pollution.”

We have millions of people dying, drought which is leading to famine, and general atmospheric higgledy-piggledy being caused by this pollution and this won’t get 1/50th of the coverage or concern that Kyoto got. That’s because it’s no fun to complain about nations like China and India when you could be whining about the nation your college professors blame for everything that’s wrong in the world ‘ the United States. Besides, it’s much easier to endlessly carp about nonsense like Kyoto when you know the US will politely blow you off, rather than taking on a real problem like pollution over Asia. That’s because fixing the ‘Cloud ‘O’ Death’ will take a little more work than voting for a UN resolution forbidding the existence of ‘smog’ and blaming the United States if it continues to exist. Eradicating this problem will probably take a lot of effort, cost a lot of money, and will mean some unfortunate group of people will have to spend entirely too much time in a some Asian backwater looking up at brown smog where the sky should be.

But of course the environmentalists always have the same solution to every ‘environmental problem.’ Do you know what it is? I’ll give you a hint, it involves you driving around in a glorified $25,000 golf cart instead of your much cheaper and more efficient car.

…A spokeswoman for environmental group Friends of the Earth said urgent action was needed.

“Actions must include phasing out fossil fuels and replacing them with clean, green, renewable energy and tough laws to protect the world’s forests”

So the environmentalists want life without fossil fuels huh? Ah, if only we could go back to the good old days when horses and bicycles were everywhere and we lived in log cabins! But don’t worry, today’s Unabomber style shack will have windmills and solar panels that will provide you with all the power you need…unless it’s dark or the wind isn’t blowing. But that’s what scented candles are for! Besides, that three hour ride to and from work on your bike each day will do you some good you capitalist pig! Look out for bears, rattlers, and wolves on the road, they’re all protected species you know! Death to technology & progress! Windmills and Ralph Nader forever!

Now I’ll admit that I can’t tell you what the solution to the ‘Cloud ‘O’ Death’ problem is. But, I do know that getting rid of fossil fuels isn’t practical and I also know that solving this problem is a lot more important and relevant than fretting about global warming that MIGHT have an impact half a century from now. If you understand that as well, it puts you way ahead of most of the environmentalists out there who’d rather whine about the United States than tackle a real problem.

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