J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy.

Romney is making jokes and Obama never mentions the #1 cause.

Consecutive daily blog #579

In the biggest speech of his life, we heard Romney cracking jokes about global warming and while President Obama says that he sees it as a legitimate, human-driven threat to our way of life, I’ve never heard him or any other elected official (or challenger) mention the number one cause.

Why do our politicians not take this crucial topic seriously? How can they all ignore this kind of summary from the United Nations?

“A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change,” according to a UN report, June 2, 2010. “As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable,” says the report from United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.

Why do political leaders and aspirants never mention the number one cause of global warming? A little background. It was actually the global warming topic that got me started down the road of activism in 2006. That was the year the United Nations produced a 400 page report entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow — a report on the vast amount of environmental damage that is caused by the raising of livestock.

Al Gore won the Nobel Prize for his “global warming” movie—even though he never mentioned the #1 cause.

The international scientists estimated that 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, and poultry. Incredibly, according to the U.N. Report, the livestock sector produces about 35 percent more greenhouse gases than ALL of transportation combined — all cars, trucks, planes, ships, trains and motorcycles. So, what did Al Gore have to say about livestock in his Inconvenient Truth movie that same year? Absolutely nothing.

And I’m glad he didn’t, because it was that inconvenient “omission” that launched my new career. I knew at that moment that we simply could no longer trust our authorities in government to level with us about what is really happening in this world. One month after seeing that movie, I launched my Harmony Earth website, which later led to my writing a book and then launching this blog in February of 2011. Thank you Mr. Gore.

Mitt Romney, GOP candidate for President of the United States.

Now we have Mitt Romney cracking jokes about the topic. And his audience seems to think they’re so funny, that he’s incorporated them into his standard pitch. From an  article in ConsortiumNews.com (See link below):

In his acceptance speech on Thursday, Romney said, “President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans (pause for mocking laughter) and heal the planet. MY promise is to help you and your family.”

Romney apparently was so thrilled with the success of his new “joke” that he repeated it while on a post-convention campaign swing. In Cincinnati, Ohio, on Saturday, he elicited more laughs from the crowd when he claimed Obama “famously said he was going to slow the rise of the oceans.” Romney added, “Our promise to you is this: we’re going to help the American people.”

So Romney is going to help me and my family? By not mentioning that much of New York City and many other large cities from New England to Florida will be underwater by 2100? Does he think that none of my family will find that inconvenient? Does he not think that I care about my grandchildren and great-grandchildren who will have to deal with the chaos that will ensue? From the Mark Bittman article shown below, here’s the source of that statistic:

 “Climate Central’s projections show that the biggest cities in Florida, and a great deal of the Northeast coastline (including New York City), will be underwater by 2100.”

President Obama is reportedly pro-environment and Michelle is credited for reducing childhood obesity. But neither one ever mention the most powerful drivers of each. “WE’RE EATING THE WRONG FOOD.”

Back to President Obama. Lest anyone think that I’ve let politics take over this blog, I must report that I’m not real happy with the seriousness of the Obama administration’s effort to fight global warming either. How serious could they be if they’ve never mentioned the number one cause?

Worse than we thought. Two former World Bank scientists are now saying that livestock is more to blame for global warming than we’d previously thought. In an earlier blog (See link below), I reported that there is newer information by Dr. Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang that suggests that the livestock sector is responsible for a much greater portion of those greenhouse gases than was reported by the U.N.

From the WorldWatch Institute website:

Dr. Goodland and Anhang report that livestock and their by-products actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions. 

Robert Goodland, who earned his PhD in tropical ecology from McGill University, Montreal, retired as lead environmental adviser at the World Bank Group after serving there for 23 years. Jeff Anhang is a research officer and environmental specialist at the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation, which provides private-sector financing and advice in developing countries.

Buckeye country — Perhaps the most important swing state

The Bottom Line. Our political system is geared to the short-term interests of undecided voters in the swing states. So how can we ever expect to elect leaders who are truly focused on the “big picture” issues facing our country and our world?

How could anyone get elected president in this country if he/she implicated our wildly popular meat, dairy, egg and seafood industries in terms of our collective failure to maintain the long-term sustainability of the human race?

Two possible ways as I see it. (1) A first term president who doesn’t want a second term. (2) A second term president who doesn’t have to get elected again. In either case, they’d need to surround themselves with a cabinet that are not afraid of taking on the big meat, dairy and pharmaceutical lobbies.

We have very serious problems that few leaders are talking about. Problems stemming from our highly wasteful, incredibly harmful, and grossly unsustainable western diet. Which candidate will get my vote? Sometimes I wonder if it even matters. Neither of them are likely to seriously address the most important issues in the history of the human species.

• Source article. Romney’s New Global-Warming ‘Joke’ | Consortiumnews.
• Source article. Endless Summer by Mark Bittman (global warming)
• An earlier blog. Livestock and global warming — even worse than we thought
• An earlier blog. Forget “saving the planet.” Think great grandchildren.

Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com

• The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD 
• Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
• An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
• Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.

Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com

International. We’re now reaching people in over 100 countries. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or get daily blog notices by “following” us in the top of the right-hand column. For occasional updates, join our periodic mailing list.

J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.

For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.

Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.

SHARE and rate this post below.

Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.

—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation