Friday, May 16, 2008

A Taxing Situation?

I knew it! Now that we're past the point of extreme vanity and getting used to the fact we're never going to fit into the clothes in our closets labeled "skinny", we've a new burden to bear.

Those of use who are a bit thick through the middle, maybe just a wee bit overweight, are being told we're contributing to global warming! Yep. There was actually a study done by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, reported in Lancet via Rueters . First of all, I find it hard to believe there is actually a school bearing such a name but apparently there is and they are quite serious!

So here's the deal. No more chocolate chip cookies from Super One, no beer with my ribs, less wine with my dinner and fewer steak dinners. Forget the foie gras and the molten chocolate cake! Next thing you know we'll be taxed for every pound of excesss weight we carry! No matter that as I get older there is less and less I am able to do with my once incredible vigor fast disappearing, eating well and enjoying it was something I always could.

Just as I'm beginning to enjoy it without dreading an additional bulge here and there I find I'm part of this humongous world problem! You see, the reasoning goes, we require more fuel to transport us, we eat more leading to shortages. To make matters worse the additional agricultural pursuits required to keep us fat and happy increases greenhouse gas emissions!

Whew! That's quite a bit to bear. Worldwide, they tell us, 400 million adults are obese. By 2015, according to the World Health Organization, 2.3 billion adults will be overweight and 700 million will be obese.

Now. This isn't all bad. You see, in a speech right out of OZ, John McCain told us he could see the Iraq war being won by the end of his first term - 2013. It seemed like pie in the sky at the time. Maybe there is a certain logic to his madness - everyone will be too fat to fight!

3 comments:

Word Tosser said...

Oh, give me a break... let's see them do England first... if it works there, then we will see what happens... so how do they account for all the skinny starving countries? There seems to be more of them then ours.. are they saving? with their walking every where, and biking? I don't think so...I think all of these so call experts with their hot air talking, is a global warming... so lets start taxing them first.
Sorry, I feel I have 10 years left at best... and I am living it as I please.. (I know, selfish of me) when the iceburgs melt down in a million years, tell me how it comes out... as I won't be here.

The New Arch Druid's take on the news said...

I thought that was one of the funniest posts I have ever read in a long time.

On that note, I have just linked to your blog. So that I can check it out when posting to my own.

Word Tosser said...

Hey, how about taxing lawn mowers... after all they run on gas, and that surely must be a big thing, with all of us American's mowing our lawns daily.. Not us doing it daily, but lawns are being mowed daily as not every one does it Saturday morning.

Then we can get the El Manuel's back and we can lose weight mowing with out engines. I will supervise.. you really didn't think I would be pushing did you? After all I did my duty when I was a kid and there weren't any engine lawn mowers never mind riding ones.