Global Warming equals Giant Burmese Pythons colonizing the US?

Hat tip to the great Newsbusters site for this one. Newsbusters is reporting a USA Today story that touts that "Global Warming Will Cause Giant Snakes to Take Over America". Now I know that the climate change folks are really trying to stir up cataclysmic repercussions but now we have to worry about a python invasion in the lower US states?

USA Today's story found on their website states:

As climate change warms the nation, giant Burmese pythons could colonize one-third of the USA, from San Francisco across the Southwest, Texas and the South and up north along the Virginia coast, according to U.S. Geological Survey maps released Wednesday.

To quote Indiana Jones "I hate snakes..." and I can't find this news to be more unwelcome but come on - Climate change? Thanks to Noel Sheppard over at Newsbusters, you find out that the real culprit is not climate change but people "...dumping pythons they don't want in the wild". Seems like a good place to start to prevent this great catastrophe is to work to stop this illegal dumping (can you imagine if the owners were smoking while they were getting rid of the unwanted reptiles - then we would have a the full power of the federal government brought down on these lawbreakers). What a hoot.

Read Noel Sheppard's post on Newsbusters here.

OS

Biofuels in Boston

I was listening to NPR this morning on the way into work and I heard that the People's Republic (Massachusetts) is considering mandating Biofuel usage in place of heating oil. Story and audio can be found here. So I got to thinking that is not all good (nothing ever is) and the story went on to say that of course the price in Biofuel would be higher but eventually when no one can afford oil, there will be no choice but to use biofuel and how smart is Massachusetts for aligining us saps now to eventually switch over to biofuel. Of course if/when oil becomes cheaper again, we will be screwed but hey - it is the thought that counts.

Well Newsbusters has a great story on environmentalists calling the use of biofuels "crimes against humanity". The story (which can be found here) quotes one of Britian's leading environmentalists, George Monbiot as saying the following in an interview with a British paper:

"If the governments promoting biofuels do not reverse their policies, the humanitarian impact will be greater than that of the Iraq war. Millions will be displaced, hundreds of millions more could go hungry."

The issue as Monbiot points out, is that biofuel production (including growing the fuel source and use of nitrogen based fertilizers) is actually more damaging to the environment and contributes more to Global Warming. I wonder what the liberals are going to do with this one. I am surprised (not) that NPR didn't track down someone with an opposing view on this to educate how some of these feel good policies have some serious long term impacts that never seem to make it to the decision makers. Does Deval Patrick up there on Beacon Hill know this? Maybe he should.

Outspoken Roman