Free Republic

ARIS -- It's a trend that counts Leonardo DiCaprio, London cabs and Al Gore among its followers: Making life "carbon neutral" through tree-planting and other environmentally friendly efforts to curb emissions of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. The theme is a hot one as scientists in Paris this week prepare to issue a major report on global warming -- but critics say the movement is counterproductive, even a scam. The practicalities of "offsetting" carbon dioxide emitted when flying, driving cars, even getting married are increasingly simple. A growing array of companies offer to calculate how much carbon dioxide such activities give off...

I remember a high school class where we were asked to write an essay about whether we were a conformist or a non-conformist. Of course, everyone wrote that they were non-conformist except for ME. I figured that if you are a TRUE non-conformist you would go against the crowd and actually proclaim yourself a conformist PLUS I also figured out that we have to act as conformists in at least 95% of what we do in order to function in society. For example, speaking a common language, abiding by traffic regulations to avoid accidents, getting vaccinated, etc.. Of course,...

On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed a bill to build the Interstate Highway System - a dream of his since he crossed the US in 1919 and, later, after he saw Hitler's autobahn. Little did he know what 46,876 miles of expressways would do. Fifty years on, the nation is still taking stock of the impact of high-speed roads connecting big cities. The system was finished only last year with the completion of Boston's "Big Dig" project. Instead of taking 10 years and $50 billion to build as envisioned, the 62 routes took nearly a halfcentury to finish and,...

They’ve gathered in New York City, the best and brightest minds in the global gun ban movement. Oh, they don’t want you to think for a second that they’re actually interested in your guns. Kofi Annan as much as said so yesterday, when he told the attendees of the Small Arms Review Conference, “This Review Conference is not negotiating a ‘global gun ban’, nor do we wish to deny law-abiding citizens their right to bear arms in accordance with their national laws.” Got it, gun owners? There’s nothing to fear from the UN when it comes to your guns. It’s...