Orgies of consumption | Lorrie Goldstein

No, the UN doesn't need to stage these orgies of consumption in the name of moderation.

It isn't necessary in the age of instant global communications and it's obscene during a world-wide recession.

The last refuge of these scoundrels is that they buy "carbon offsets" to reduce their carbon footprint to zero, a claim so absurd to anyone who understands the science of global warming, it's beyond laughable.

Once you emit a greenhouse gas, there's no way to put the genie back in the bottle. The only way not to emit it, is not to emit it.

That's just the inconvenient truth.

Fraudsters pull off £38m heist from taxpayer’s pocket  - Christopher Booker - Telegraph

It seems wondrously apt that two absurd systems cooked up by the EU – one being VAT, the other an “emissions trading system” designed to save the planet from non-existent global warming – are being exploited together, to rob us all of hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

NPR takes on ‘clean coal’ astroturfers « Climate Progress

DAN LASHOF: Any time a trade association tries to portray their activities as grass roots activity when it’s clearly being orchestrated by corporate headquarters, that raises very serious questions about making sure that the public really understands what is going on.

Flashback: Laurie David: One Seriously 'Inconvenient' Woman : NPR

On day four of my crying jag, I finally pulled myself together and called three people: John Adams, NRDC's founder; Frances Bienecke, the group's president; and Bobby Kennedy — my three guides and mentors. I pitched to them an idea of how I thought we could — had to — build a huge grassroots movement demanding solutions to global warming. A giant march on Washington to stop global warming, but on the Internet instead of on the streets. A virtual march that would continue every day until we were millions strong, combining all of our voices into one loud, clear cry for action. Frances said, "Fantastic." John said, "Great, we are in." Bobby said, "I don't get it. What do you mean virtual?" And, believe me, that was the hardest thing I did that year, explaining to a guy who has never touched a computer what the heck virtual meant. Eventually, he was in too, along with dozens of other organizations and environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, Care2, The Conservation Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Council of Churches, the Indy Racing League, Tides Network, Roots, myspace.com, and dozens more.