"I know gas prices are high and there is no magic wand to wave"--George W. Bush, at the Renewable Fuels Association, 2006

"The long term strategy is to power our automobiles with something other than oil; something other than gasoline--which is derived from oil."--George W. Bush, at the Renewable Fuels Association, 2006

Presumably the qualifying clause was added in case conferences attendees did not know the origin of gasoline.

In terms of the possibilty for price fixing by the oil companies Bush went on to say that:

"This administration is not going to tolerate manipulation."

Whether or such a statement can be taken seriously remains to be seen.
by: ProfMKD @ 4:57 pm | 0 comments

Ice-capped roof of world turns to desert

Scientists warn of ecological catastrophe across Asia as glaciers melt and continent's great rivers dry up

By Geoffrey Lean, Environment Editor
Published: 07 May 2006

Global warming is rapidly melting the ice-bound roof of the world, and turning it into desert, leading scientists have revealed.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences - the country's top scientific body - has announced that the glaciers of the Tibetan plateau are vanishing so fast that they will be reduced by 50 per cent every decade. Each year enough water permanently melts from them to fill the entire Yellow River. [more at the Chinese Acad. of Science site--link]

by: ProfMKD @ 9:17 am | 0 comments