-- BEIJING, Sept 27 (Reuters) -- Most crops grown in the United States and Europe to make "green" transport fuels actually speed up global warming because of industrial farming methods, says a report by Nobel prize winning chemist Paul J. Crutzen.This is a prime example of "The Law of Unintended Consequences."
The findings could spell particular concern for alternative fuels derived from rapeseed, used in Europe, which the study concluded could produce up to 70 percent more planet-warming greenhouse gases than conventional diesel.
There was a wonderful example of this type of thing in the book "Freakononics" where a daycare decided to institute a late fee for the few parents who were consistently late picking up their children at the end of the day.
The intent of the charge was to decrease the instance of people who were tardy... but what resulted instead, was a significant increase... now that parents felt they were justified in coming late, as long as they paid the "fine."
The obvious lesson here is... listen to the science... not Al Gore.
Technorati Tags: alternative fuels, Freakononics, Law of Unintended Consequences
