Climategate Update 5: IPCC's Chairman Mao

Like the band on the Titanic, even while Climategate explodes around him, IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri keeps on playing, seemingly oblivious. Pachauri shown above sporting - appropriately - a Mao outfit, stated in an interview with the UK's Observer "that western society must undergo a radical value shift if the worst effects of climate change were to be avoided." According to our green Mao, he seeks his own Cultural Revolution:

"Today we have reached the point where consumption and people's desire to consume has grown out of proportion. . . The reality is that our lifestyles are unsustainable. . . ."

The IPCC Chairman seeks to wholly rework our lifestyles. He wants heavy taxation of air travel with the proceeds being used to subsidize other forms of public travel. He wants government to "curb driving" by using price "to regulate the use of private vehicles." He wants us to "eat less meat because of the levels of carbon emissions associated with rearing livestock." He even wants restaurants to stop serving ice water unless the customer asks for it.

Paruchi, calling modern Western Culture "corrupt," proposes taking a page from the 20th century's other towering communist, Lenin. He sees his green revolution succeeding based on the education of our children. Unfortunately, as I point out here and here, he has reason to believe that such a strategy will work.

Lastly, the Anchoress posted a must-read essay on Climategate. She covers the topic from a wide variety of aspects, including the following, which dovetails perfectly with my comments above on IPCC Chairman Paruchi:

To suggest that large-numbers of privileged people flying scores of private planes to exotic locals, gorging themselves on fine fare while deciding how the common folk ought to live, in order to “save” the planet from AGW was bizarre, wasteful and hypocritical in an era of video-conferencing, was to be sniffed at as “insipid.” Didn’t one understand the power of the Gore Indulgence carbon-offset? Just pay some money to the man with the absolute moral authority on all things green, and your sins are covered. Somewhere, a tree is planted.

Voila. It seems that not all of us in the West are corrupt when viewed through green lenses, high atop Mount IPCC.

Prior Posts:

Climategate and Surrealism

More Climategate Fallout

Climategate Update 3

Climategate Update 4: CRU Records Worthless