Global warming, whether or not it is real or even human-caused (and I am willing to believe that some can be caused by humans, but it no threat to this planet) nonetheless has been used as a vehicle by environmentalists and the political classes to grab even more power. The British journalist Ambrose Evans-Pritchard lays out the real issue. He writes:

We drive, they starve. The mass diversion of the North American
grain harvest into ethanol plants for fuel is reaching its
political and moral limits.

“The reality is that people are dying already,” said Jacques
Diouf, of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
“Naturally people won’t be sitting dying of starvation, they will
react,” he said.

The UN says it takes 232kg of corn to fill a 50-litre car tank
with ethanol. That is enough to feed a child for a year. Last
week, the UN predicted “massacres” unless the biofuel policy is
halted.

Unfortunately, he also has this wrong-headed missive:

Hedge funds played their part in the violent rise in spot prices
early this year. To that extent they can be held responsible for the
death of African and Asian children. Tougher margin rules on the
commodity exchanges might have stopped the racket. Capitalism must
police itself, or be policed.

Hedge funds are not the cause. They only are a reaction to the policies created by the political classes, and they actually mitigate the financial damage that these policies create.

People should understand that people dying is EXACTLY what the environmentalists want. I recall that not long ago, a science professor from the University of Texas received a standing ovation from other scientists at a conference when he declared that he looked forward to the day when 90% of the population is eradicated. I think that says it all.

By the way, these “alternative fuel” programs have received much praise from Paul Krugman, who says that they will “stimulate” the economy. Enough said.