Ignoring Kyoto

In a recent column Mark Steyn laid out some interesting, and perhaps surprising, numbers regarding greenhouse emissions:

From 1997 when the Kyoto treaty was signed until 2004 greenhouse emissions worldwide increased 18%. Countries which signed the treaty increased their emissions 21%. Emissions from non-signers increased 10%. Emissions from the U.S. increased 6.6%.

What conclusions can we draw from this? Well, one seems to be that Kyoto would do little to nothing to curtail the continuing pollution of our atmosphere with greenhouse gases. The countries which signed it appear to be the most egregious flaunters of it. Second, those nations and individuals which castigate us for our refusal to sign on to Kyoto need to redirect their attention elsewhere. Otherwise, their outrage over the damage being done to our environment looks more like simple old-fashioned anti-Americanism than it does a genuine concern for global environmental degradation.

RLC

How's Your Diet?

Do you eat a lot of fatty food? Are you concerned about the effect this has on your arteries? If so, you should read this.

The article is based on the work of Israeli researchers who discovered that consuming polyphenols (natural compounds in red wine, fruits, and vegetables) simultaneously with high-fat foods may reduce health risks associated with these foods.

Pass the wine and french fries.

RLC

The High Cost of Cheap Tomatoes

Those who wish to grant amnesty to illegal aliens and to keep the flow of immigrants coming often argue that they constitute cheap labor needed by American businesses to keep the cost of their products affordable to consumers. So, it might be helpful to see what those products are really costing the American taxpayer:

• $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year.
• $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
• $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
• $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary education for children here illegally.
• $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
• $3 Million Dollars a day is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. Thirty percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
• $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for welfare and social services by the American taxpayers.
• $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by illegal aliens.
• Illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two and a half times that of white, legal immigrants.
• During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 million illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border, including as many as 19,500 from terrorist countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroine and marijuana, crossed into the U.S. through the porous southern border.
• The National Policy Institute estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion, or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period.
• In 2006 illegal aliens sent $45 billion in remittances to their countries of origin.
• It has been estimated that there are currently in the United States some 240,000 illegal immigrants who are sex offenders and who have committed nearly one million sex crimes.

The total cost to the nation of illegal immigration is several hundred billion dollars a year which is quite a price to pay for cheap labor. It's not clear exactly how Americans benefit from this.

Indeed, the situation is actually more dire and depressing than the above facts suggest. Go here to read why.

RLC