My parents used to talk about rationing during the war with great apprehension. Clearly the nutters in and supporting Cancun are clueless as to how such a scheme would be viewed by the public. My inbox has lit up today from all around the world over this issue. Short of Climategate itself, I haven’t quite seen any other similar reaction.
Excerpts from the Telegraph: Cancun climate change summit: scientists call for rationing in developed world
Global warming is now such a serious threat to mankind that climate change experts are calling for Second World War-style rationing in rich countries to bring down carbon emissions.
…
In a series of papers published by the Royal Society, physicists and chemists from some of world’s most respected scientific institutions, including Oxford University and the Met Office, agreed that current plans to tackle global warming are not enough.
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In one paper Professor Kevin Anderson, Director of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said the only way to reduce global emissions enough, while allowing the poor nations to continue to grow, is to halt economic growth in the rich world over the next twenty years.
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Prof Anderson admitted it “would not be easy” to persuade people to reduce their consumption of goods
He said politicians should consider a rationing system similar to the one introduced during the last “time of crisis” in the 1930s and 40s.
This could mean a limit on electricity so people are forced to turn the heating down, turn off the lights and replace old electrical goods like huge fridges with more efficient models. Food that has travelled from abroad may be limited and goods that require a lot of energy to manufacture.
“The Second World War and the concept of rationing is something we need to seriously consider if we are to address the scale of the problem we face,” he said.
Full story here: Cancun climate change summit: scientists call for rationing in developed world
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Does anyone really want to see a ration stamp like this?
For anyone that wishes to get the Royal Society’s papers referenced in the article, they are available for a limited time download here:
http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/369/1934.toc#content-block
we should always remember that when talking to a catastrophist, or any other salesman, `up to` clearly includes the figure zero.
I’m pretty sure I know what this is.
Maybe it takes someone like myself from a left wing loony bin to explain what this is.
They’re raising a more insane objective (they have no intention of pursuing) so they can then posture their real lunatic intentions as moderate, reasonable and a compromise.
Or it’s chum to lure people away from critiquing other areas of the AGW agenda.
Or they have indeed crossed over to moronsville and believe they have come up with a brilliant idea.
There are times when I think many of THEM are just too dumb to properly ponder the planet.
The number to call is 202 224 3121 (Senate switchboard)
# on the Monsanto Food Bill S-510
If you want to stop the takeover of America’s food supply, get on this now!
Come on guys, give the the good Lysenkoist Professor a break ……
….. he knows it’s his last boondoggle. Why not go out in style ??
It’s a surprise this was so early in the conference. I would have put it in the final session and everyone could go to the farewell party straight afterwards.
The theme of this conference should have been “Grasping at Straws”, the optics work with a nice beach scene and an ice-cold margarita in the frame.
jae says:
November 29, 2010 at 7:04 pm
This is a joke, right?
Naw, I know…
But, really, the AGW enthusiasts are becoming more and more hilarious.
Are these people SO out of touch that they think the public will allow themselves to “lower their standard of living” to support a completely unproven, undemonstrated “problem?”
WHAT???
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I know, I know…I was thinking the same thing. They really ARE that out of touch.
They are absolutely, stark, raving mad.
Chris
Norfolk, VA, USA
Instead of rationing, I have decided to engage
in one hour of self-flagellation, every day until
I become a socialist.
self-flag•el•la•tion
1. The act of severely criticizing oneself.
2. The act of punishing oneself.
Ian Middleton says: (November 29, 2010 at 6:08 pm) I’ll be down on the corner wearing a trenchcoat with a brace of rabbits, a chook and 15 watches in the lining.
Go, Ian! Not enough of the world calls a spade a spade and a chook a chook. Amusing, but in some countries they call them chickens! Hah!
IF one believes the GCMs, why not swallow ALL the nutty consequences? THEY do.
Reme[m]ber that the Environmental Correspondents are all staying at the same 5 star re[s]ort as the others.
Judd says: (November 29, 2010 at 6:12 pm) …why oh why oh why can’t these morons leave ordinary people alone to live thrive and survive.
Sweetly put, Judd.
Newton once head of the Royal Society must now be turning in his grave.
What a bunch of wankers. I’m lost for any other words.
[snip – way off topic, nothing to do with this blog ~mod]
You really don’t have to worry about the left wing loons. They believe man is responsible for the warming of the entire planet. That’s why they are loons.
I for one am 100% supportive of the rich countries limiting themselves while allowing the poor countries to grow their economies. Of course, I gots me some “requirements”:
1. No deal until they become full democracies and,
2. Establish freedom of speech and,
3. Establish a free press and,
4. Establish freedom of religion and,
5. Establish equality of the sexes and,
6. Establish equality of the races and,
7. Establish the rule of law and,
8. Do it all without anymore handouts from the rich countries now, or ever.
Good deal I think. Look at all the good stuff they’d be getting. Who would turn down all that freedom and equality? These aren’t unfair demands, they’re BENEFITS! I’m certain they will accept in a heart beat.
Until then of course the rich countries had best remain rich so that someone can send food and aid to the starving in the poor countries which of course we will do out of guilt that we are rich and they are poor.
Oops… forgot 9 and 10 universal education and health care. More benefits. Give it a shot poor countries… we’re waiting…. like the last couple of centuries or so, we’re waiting…
I say, let’s oblige them immediately by imposing rationing of return plane flights to the point of complete and total suspension. Let’s leave these crazy scientists and their political cohorts in Cancun indefinitely. Maybe once they’ve experienced the full Mexican Drug Cartel Experience first hand they’ll come to the realization that far more pressing problems face the world’s population. And while they’re there, since most of them are from rich countries, let them all start with a 3-day fast to see how much fun going without food can be!
Hey! I’m way ahead of you guys. I still have my last WWII rationing book with some unused stamps. I was in grammar school at the time so the only downside is, no gas stamps.
john ratcliffe says:
November 29, 2010 at 5:40 pm
I sometimes wonder if the sole purpose of some institutions is to invent new levels of incompetence, and they then expect others to achieve them. Unfortunately, they appear to have some succes
This rings a bell.
“in a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence”.
Never thought it would apply to scientists, more so to whole institutions, but it seems that it does. And that incompetence allows them to make fools of themselves in front of the whole world.
On the subject, isn’t cap and trade a type of rationing? They just want it for the man on the street. In feudal times it was called “head tax”. A village had to pay tax according to the number of heads living there.
Lookit. We don’t have to ever worry about not having enough consumer goods in the event the rest of the world cuts us off. We have every attic, crawlspace, garage, nook, and cranny crammed with every imaginable consumer item known to man purchased from cheep labor countries from around the world. All we really need is Craigslist.
[snip – lately, your posts have been nothing but ugly missives, try to contribute something intelligent and meaningful other than off topic snarky one-liners ~mod]
It is as if climate scientists are sitting in a great circle around a camp fire, passing a joint and telling ghost stories.
Phil’s Dad said/asked “What is his “Plan B”?”
Something that begins with “Z” and ends with “B” and was also devastatingly unpopular with certain populations during WWII ?
regarDS
Definitely a disconnect with tge realities of the need and impact. They seem to forget about the deaths that occur in the summer and winter when there’s a shortage of the ability to heat or cool homes. The same thing would happen with this type of rationing. I would expect a decrease in life expectancy from this alone.
But just as CO2 that’s caused by nature isn’t nearly as harmful as CO2 caused by humans, so too deaths caused by combating climate change aren’t nearly as harmful as deaths caused by simply dying.