ESRI and Green Party Living in Environmental Cloud Cuckoo Land: Time to accept the real causes of Greenhouse Effect

The Economic and Social Research Institute suggests that Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions will have increased by nearly 5% in 2007.
Professor Richard Tol of the ESRI says heavy carbon taxes must be introduced in the medium term.

Is Richard Tol living in cloud cuckoo land? Ireland has seen a massive rise in electricity, gas, diesel and petrol prices. That is tantamount to the introduction of a carbon tax.
Industry and agriculture are struggling under the strain of government-imposed regulation and crippling energy prices. The economy cannot withstand such economic lunacy. The Green Party as well as the ESRI wish to deliver the coupe de grace.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan seems to assume that Ireland can save the planet. It is time for the Green Party to face facts. It is pointless living in an environmental dream world.
India and China have no intention of reducing their carbon emissions. Indeed they intend to increase them. Meanwhile some Western countries crippled by carbon taxes will be expected to compete with them. It is not on Mr Ryan. You are living in Fantasy Land.
It is indisputable that global warming is taking place. However the causes of global warming can be disputed.

Climate change is caused mainly by variations in the tilt of the earths axis and in its orbit around the sun. This is cyclical. Variations in the sun’s energy output is another cause. There are cycles in sunspot activity.
Sunspots have all but disappeared in recent years. When this happened 400 years ago it signalled the start of the Little Ice Age.

It is likely that we may face such an eventuality-sooner rather than later. The human contribution to green house gases contributes 0.25% to the Greenhouse Effect.
Since the end of the last Ice Age the earth’s temperatures have risen by 16 degrees Fahrenheit.
Time for some realism from the Geen Party and the ESRI.

Govt must move strongly to rein in out-of-control Mandelson - Creed

Since EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson assumed the mantle of EU Trade Commissioner he has pursued a policy of liberalisation of world trade at the expense of EU agriculture. EU farmers are hammered by increasingly strict environmental regulations and EU induced red tape.


Meanwhile a halfhearted effort is made to ensure that Brazil adheres to the same conditions imposed on EU farmers. Recently the EU introduced a ban on imports of Brazilian beef on the basis of lack of proper traceability and other irregularities in beef production methods. This was for the optics and was a cynical ploy to give the impression that the EU was really serious about the irregularities in beef production. No sooner was the ban introduced than it was dropped.
The EU appears to have an agenda to wipe out beef and poultry industries in member states to ensure increased access to Brazilian markets for industry. As a quid pro quo Brazil can flood the EU market with cheap meat produced to low standards. To hell with health risks for the consumer. To hell with food security. It is time to remove Mandelson.

The EU is prepared to import beef from Amazonia. It has no scruples about the burning of the rainforests to facilitate an increase in Brazilian beef production. The resulting huge increase in CO2 from the burnings is of no concern to Mandelson. Has he never heard of the Greenhouse Effect? What hypocrisy.

Today FG spokesman Michael Creed issued the following press release. It is highly apposite:

During Dáil Statements on the WTO today (Thursday), Fine Gael Agriculture Spokesperson, Michael Creed TD, called on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Agriculture to rein in EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, through establishing a special intergovernmental conference if necessary.
"There is a growing frustration at the fact Mr. Mandelson is acting significantly beyond his negotiating brief from the Commission. He should not be allowed to sell out the interests of European agriculture, and Irish beef producers in particular, to get a deal. It is the responsibility of the Taoiseach and the Minister to rein in Mr. Mandelson. If necessary let us have a special intergovernmental conference where a telling message can be sent to the EU Trade Commissioner.
"The issue of Brazilian beef, which is now available here again, arises in this context. If Brazilians want access to European markets then, in the context of the WTO, let us have non-trade issues on the agenda, such as animal health, that will ensure their products are produced to the standard European consumers expect and European producers have to meet.