The difference between Science and Politics
From the
UK Guardian:
Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis
Internal World Bank study delivers blow to plant energy drive
Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report obtained by the Guardian.
The damning unpublished assessment is based on the most detailed analysis of the crisis so far, carried out by an internationally-respected economist at global financial body.
The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises. It will add to pressure on governments in Washington and across Europe, which have turned to plant-derived fuels to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce their dependence on imported oil.
There are a lot of factors affecting the current spike in food prices: drought, excessive precipitation, global warming, the marked cooling trend of the last ten-fifteen years and the re-allocation of crop-land to Corn in order to get the US Government subsidies.
At our Grocery Store, we have seen a spike in our costs but a lot of those are due to the current fuel bubble as much as the rising price of corn.
While I think the US figures of 3% are a tad low -- I would put it (as a wild-assed-guess) closer to 10%; 75% is ludicrous. A number picked out of some politicians hat, not the result of a scientific analysis.
I wonder who spiked their coffee -- and then I read the next two graphs:
Senior development sources believe the report, completed in April, has not been published to avoid embarrassing President George Bush.
"It would put the World Bank in a political hot-spot with the White House," said one yesterday.
Ahhh -- yet another cheap shot at Chimpy McGeorge Bushhhhitler...
And of course, since this 'report' has been leaked, there is no publication of any of their citations so we peons cannot fact check it ourselves, we just have to trust that our social betters have our poor best interests at heart and we should just do whatever they say.
I found about this through a link on Gary Jones' site -- Muck and Mystery:
Liberty Feast -- where he concludes his excellent post with these words:
The next time you hear some outraged fool screeching that we must do something, take action about some issue that obsesses them, bear in mind that this is nearly always destructive. Useless flailing about poorly understood problems is wasteful and worse.
Truer words have never been spoken!
Posted by DaveH at July 4, 2008 9:10 PM