What goes up must come down meets what goes in must come out.

Any farm boy knows that whatever hay they fork into the front of the horse stall they will have to shovel out the back and wheel it over to the manure pile. Same thing with fossil-fuels. Whatever we burn comes out the tail pipe/smokestack. Elementary, my dear Watson.

The U.S. reported a decline in greenhouse gas emissions, the first decline since 2001, when the U.S. was last in recession. This was on the news wires today:

“U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases fell 1.5 percent in 2006, the first annual reduction since 2001.

Total emissions fell to 7.1 billion metric tons, according to the report today from the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department. The year-to- year drop in gases blamed for global warming is the third since 1990.

The decline was largely the result of cuts in carbon dioxide output, which fell 111 million metric tons below 2005 levels. Favorable weather conditions, higher energy prices and increased use of natural gas for power generation lowered carbon pollution, according to the report.” Bloomberg News November 28, 2007

Trust you me, if we emitted less it is because we CONSUMED less, and we consumed less because that WAS ALL WE HAD TO CONSUME. We consumed all that was available. (If some moron comes on T.V. and says: “Good news! The U.S. is lowering its carbon footprint!” You will know you are in the presence of an imbecile, although I am sure some miscreant will try and run this past the folks on the couch.)

Anybody care to take the other side of a wager? I will bet greenhouse gas emissions will be lower in 2007 than in 2006 irrespective of weather conditions this winter.

You can’t emit what you don’t burn.

Yours in a lower carbon foot print (HA!),

Mentatt (at) yahoo (d0t) com