Climate Research News » IPCC Prayer

I believe in Manmade Global Warming
Which will destroy earth and heaven unless we pay more tax
I believe in Al Gore
Who patented the carbon dollar
And the hockey-stick plot, born of Mann but work of Gaia
It suffered under McIntyre and McKitrick
Was crucified, disproven, and was buried
On the third day It rose again
And was published in IPCC literature
It will apply again if ever global temperatures start rising
I believe in the carbon dioxide tipping point
In all IPCC Assessment Reports, the impartiality of the media
And the accuracy of surface gridded data
Unnatural climate variation after 1970
And grants everlasting.
AMEN

It's a religion, all right: "Deliver us from cheeseburgers"

Peter Aldhous, San Francisco bureau chief

My climate guilt is complete. Not only did I expand my personal carbon footprint by flying from California to attend the AAAS meeting, but yesterday I ordered a cheeseburger on room service at my hotel here in Chicago.

Regular readers of New Scientist will already know that agriculture makes a bigger contribution to global warming than the entire transportation sector, and that you can help manage the problem by choosing low-carbon foods.

My guilt trip stems from the fact that cheeseburgers are among the most climate-unfriendly foods imaginable, as multiple speakers reminded me this morning at a AAAS session on "life-cycle assessments" of the total greenhouse gases emitted in putting food on our plates.

The good news is that some organisations are making better choices than me. At this morning's session, Helene York of the Bon Appetit Management Company described her efforts to bring low-carbon menus to its network of some 400 cafes on college campuses and in corporations across 29 US states.

In April 2007, Bon Appetit adopted a two-year target to reduce the use of high-carbon beef and cheese by 25 per cent. For beef, this target has easily been achieved. But York admits that the cheese target will be missed, because chefs have struggled to find acceptable alternatives. "It will take more time to educate the palates of our customers," she says.