On a much lighter note............

The Daily Mail (yea, I know it's a British tabloid) had a "shocking" post the other day (thanks Laura!) about the climate change hypocrisy of certain famous celebrities. Just looking at their list I would say that Mr. Travolta is the worst offender of the bunch (a boeing 707 and a private runway. Are you kidding me!). Leo and Charles probably could have been left off the list. Sorry folks, Al Gore did not qualify. Here is the link to the story by Tom Sykes.

Congratulations Paul!

Paul Yeager, who is a forecaster and managing editor of AccuWeather.com has on several occasions graciously filled in for me on this blog just just released his first book Literally, the Best Language Book Ever. The book is a compilation and analysis of words, phrases and expressions that we should never use again. Paul has more about his book right here on his AccuWeather.com blog. Here is the link to Paul's book on Amazon.com.

Sorry Paul, I did not mean to lump you with the "high" journalistic quality of the Daily Mail, just bad timing. LOL.

Several U.S. economists have concluded that high gasoline prices could lead to a dramatic reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to a New Scientist release. How so?

--High gas prices are turning consumers away from gas guzzling trucks and SUVs and toward more fuel-efficient vehicles that burn less fuel and produce fewer emissions.

--Drivers are also cutting back on driving to save money. (count me as one of those!)

According to Chris Knittel, an economist at the University of California Davis, the impact will be dramatic, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by tens of millions of tons per year.

Knittel estimates that over about a decade, these changes in buying habits could cut the amount of gasoline used by U.S. drivers by around 7% for every $1 dollar increase in it's price. Something to consider, especially since some Wall Street analysts recently suggested that the cost of a barrel of crude oil could reach the $150 to $200 in the very near future!

I like the last part of the release.........

It is also possible that politics will intervene before any of these effects has a chance to kick in. Presidential hopefuls John McCain and Hillary Clinton have reacted to consumer protests over soaring fuel prices by declaring that they would suspend federal gasoline taxes. "It's a fantastically stupid idea," says Roberton Williams, an economist at the University of Texas at Austin.

"But people don't like high gas taxes, so it's popular."

Update: crude oil up to $126 a barrel as of Friday evening. Ouch!