Don't Blame Bush, Blame the Bears

Bears.  You know 'em, you know the threat they pose.  But I'll bet you didn't know that bears are to blame for high prices at the pump.  Kevin Hassett of the American Enterprise Institute explains why providing endangered species protection to polar bears is a threat to mankind.

The first is the possible wide geographic reach of the global warming argument. The snail darter almost killed a single dam. The polar bear could, in theory at least, stop everything. ...

The second impact of this ruling is that it will likely end all Arctic exploration for oil and gas, at least in the U.S. Given surging world demand for oil, increased supply is the only thing standing between us and $200-a-barrel oil.

You hear that?  It's not conflict in the Middle East, instability in US financial markets, or the rapid growth in India and China that's causing your gas bill to go up.  Hand over the bears, or prepare to pay one million dollars to fill your SUV.  

But wait!  There's really no conflict.  Hassett and his fellow AEI fellow, Kenneth Green, don't believe that the polar bear is in danger at all.  Granted, both of them are known for backing oil drilling at all costs, and couldn't be counted on to say a bad thing about drilling if it used nuns and orphans as lubricant.  And Hassett admits that biologists are convinced the polar bear is in decline because of melting ice.  But they have a professor on their side, as well.

For example, professor J. Scott Armstrong of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania recently told Science Daily that "the polar bear populations have been increasing rapidly in recent decades due to hunting restrictions."

There you go.  Scientific evidence that the polar bear is doing great, from J. Scott Armstrong, Professor of Marketing.  Plutonium Page predicted that Armstrong's already well-debunked baloney would become the go-to "study" for those who can't wait to destroy the last tiny fragments of wilderness.

My forecast is that it will be quoted over and over again throughout the deniersphere.  

As the saying goes, "if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with..," well, you know the saying.

It was obvious that AEI would be at the front of the line since being the firstest with the mostest BS is their standard practice.  It's less obvious why the mainstream media keeps providing AEI and their unsubstantiated nonsense with a platform.  Does even a business-friendly publication like Bloomberg's really benefit from associated with such noxious fiction?

Hassett's last appearance in the pages of Bloomberg was when he warned that it was bad for business when CEOs weren't allowed to "defend themselves" by spreading unsupported rumors rather than making testable public statements.  At least AEI seems to live up to that standard.  "Rumor" is the nicest word for any evidence that Hassett puts forth.

Oh, and as McCain starts to put forth his environmental recommendations today, it's well worth noting that Kevin Hassett is an adviser to the McCain campaign.  So there you go.  The "straight talker" gets his environmental and economic advice from this guy.