Recently, liberal think tank The Center for American Progress (CAP) put out a list of “The Top 100 Effects of Global Warming.” As if the hysteria around global warming isn’t crazed enough, we can now add 100 more things to the list of supposedly doomed pastimes.
So next time you want to drink a French wine, decorate a Christmas tree, or see a koala bear, and you can’t – just remember that the Center for American Progress warned you.
Here are a few of the highlights, quoted directly from the Web site:
“Say Goodbye to Baseball
The ash tree – from which all baseball bats are made – is in danger of disappearing, thanks to a combination of killer beetles and global warming.”
“Say Hello to Bulgarian Hooker Shortages
‘Brothel owners in Bulgaria are blaming global warming for staff shortages. They claim their best girls are working in ski resorts because a lack of snow has forced tourists to seek other pleasures.’”
“The Oceans are Turning to Acid
It sounds like a really bad sci-fi movie, but it’s true: The oceans are turning to acid! Oceans absorb CO2 which, when mixed with seawater, turns to a weak carbonic acid. Calcium from eroded rocks creates a ‘natural buffer’ against the acid, and most marine life is ‘finely tuned’ to the current balance. As we produce more and more CO2, we throw the whole balance out of whack and the oceans turn to acid.”
“Genocide in Sudan
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon charges, ‘Amid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change.’”
Genocide in the Sudan began because of global warming? Killer beetles and global warming ending baseball? Oceans of acid? These people must be a left-wing alarmist fringe group that no one takes seriously, right? Well, a quick Nexis search shows that on networks including ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and CNN, the Center for American Progress has been cited more than 100 times since the beginning of the year.
CAP sponsors the “Clean My Ride” project. “Clean My Ride” was put together to advocate ethanol and other “clean fuels” and to influence Congress to tighten the CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards for cars, light trucks, and SUVs. CAP put together a series of videos with such notable actors as Matt Damon (dressed as a gas pump), Ben Affleck (dressed as an ear of corn), and Jason Biggs (who touts the wonders of Brazil’s sugar cane ethanol program).
CAP is run by one of Bill Clinton’s former top policy advisers, John Podesta. Other top staff have worked for politicians such as Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Congressman Dick Gephardt, and former senator and current presidential candidate John Edwards. But it doesn’t stop there. Listed as a “distinguished fellow” is Tom Daschle, the liberal former Senate minority leader. To top it off, the group is funded by well-known liberal money man George Soros. Soros has his hands in a plethora of liberal causes including MoveOn.org.
