Weather, Water, Energy 10-29-06

The Boston Globe has a really good review of a new Canadian movie coming out, its version of "An Inconvenient Truth," only with a twist. This movie features the message delivered by Evangelicals. I've commented here frequently about the ego and tickets-bought-to-Hell by those "Christians" who vote for folks who have been tearing up God's work (OK and Sen. Inhofe come to mind quickly, don't they?). Well, here's a quote from a minister in the movie: ‘‘To harm this world by environmental degradation is an offense against God.’’ Maybe it'll have more credibility coming from him. Anyway, another important movie to watch for and support. And this one has a chance to capture some folks Al couldn't get to. (But don't hold out hope for OK.) . . . Meanwhile, in depressing reality, the BBC runs a couple of stories that get to the heart of what we face. This one tells us of a report of the effect of global warming on Africa, which, having had little to do with it seems likely to reap a lot of the result, saying "Climate change is already affecting people across Africa and will wipe out efforts to tackle poverty there unless urgent action is taken." Think even committed foreign aid will help? This one tells you why that's not likely to happen and illustrates well what economists call "transactions costs" while dumping on usually unrealistic carbon trading systems at the same time (a nice two-fer). But don't say anything to Sen. Inhofe. He'll get upset.