Some real numbers

From Bjorn Lomborg writing at The Daily Star:

Rio will host another wasted opportunity on the environment
Tens of thousands of people are gathering in Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations Earth Summit. The participants, ranging from weary politicians to enthusiastic campaigners, are supposed to reignite global concern for the environment. Unfortunately, the summit is likely to be a wasted opportunity.

The United Nations is showcasing the alluring promise of a �green economy,� that is focused on tackling global warming. In fact, the summit is striking at the wrong target, neglecting the much greater environmental concerns of the vast majority of the world.

Global warming is by no means our main environmental threat. Even if we assumed � unreasonable � that it caused all deaths from floods, droughts, heat waves and storms, this total would amount to just 0.06 percent of all deaths in the developing countries. In comparison, 13 percent of all deaths in what we can call the Third World are the result of water and air pollution.

So, for each person who might die from global warming, about 210 people die from health problems that are the result of a lack of clean water and sanitation, from breathing smoke generated by burning dirty fuels (such as dried animal dung) indoors, and from breathing polluted air outdoors.

This ruling elite -- our political masterminds -- are so out of touch that their actions could almost be considered criminal. But then, laws aren't for them, they are for the little people. There should be a law in the US that all aspirants to political life must spend a minimum of five years in the workplace. They need to send their children to public school, ride the public transit on a regular basis, they need to make payroll for their employees. The environmentalists are drawing close to the Communists -- the enviros murder a couple million each year and the Communists have a known body count of around 100M. It's not leadership, it's a cognitive disorder...