"I'm trying to save the planet; I'm trying to save the planet." The summer heat, caused of course by man-made global warming, must be causing Nancy Pelosi to repeat herself. I wonder if she was wearing a pair of red slippers and kicking her heals together during her plea.

Barack Obama tells us to properly inflate our tires and get tune-ups as part of his solution to expensive oil and gasoline, which is all well and good. But I would venture to say that most Americans have properly inflated tires and cars that don't require tune-ups.

Obama sounds like Jimmy Carter who, during the last oil and gas crunch in the late 1970s, went on national TV and told us to turn down our thermostats and put on sweaters. This, again, is not terrible personal advice, but like Obama's recommendation, it is ridiculous as part of a national energy policy.

With gas reaching $4 a gallon, this is what we get from liberals? Vain repetitions about impending climate doom and admonitions to inflate our tires? (Weather forecasters can barely get tomorrow right, and yet we are supposed to believe these climate alarmists when they preach gloom-and-doom that, even they admit, is years or decades down the road?)

First of all, oil is a natural resource. It is not like we're burning Styrofoam or plastics to fuel our cars. Also, according to recent studies published in the journal Science, burning oil is, ultimately, better for the environment than burning biofuels. The New York Times reported on this in February of this year noting that, "Almost all biofuels used today cause more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional fuels (read: oil) if the full emissions costs of producing these ‘green' fuels are taken into account."

Second, as Christopher Monckton, a former policy adviser to Margaret Thatcher, recently demonstrated, the planet is not in a climate crisis, man-made or otherwise. According to Science and Public Policy Institute, Monckton's paper "demonstrates via 30 equations that computer models used by the United Nations' climate panel, the IPCC, were preprogrammed with overstated values for the three variables whose product is ‘climate sensitivity' (temperature increase in response to greenhouse-gas increase), resulting in a 500-2,000 percent overstatement of CO2's effect on temperature."

SIPP adds that, "The paper clearly and mathematically demonstrates there is no ‘climate crisis' requiring massive government intervention, as falsely claimed by alarmists such as Al Gore." (A link to Monckton's peer reviewed paper is on my Web site.)

Lastly, given the comments and actions of the radical environmentalists and the politicians who enable them, it seems that these "earth worshippers" are out to "save the planet" for the sake of the planet.

Make no mistake about it; "Mother Earth" has become their idol. They have lost sight of the fact that the planet and all of its resources (including the delicious animal kingdom) were created for the benefit of mankind, not vice versa. In other words, human beings, not the earth, are the crown of God's creation.

Sadly, the foolish view of the radical environmentalists has led to the suffering and death of many human beings the world over in the name of "saving the planet." Everything from the indirect effects of disastrous biofuel policies to violent environmental terrorism to dreadful abortion practices reveal the callous disregard many environmentalists have for their fellow man.

Fossil fuels literally "fueled" the Industrial Revolution in the United States. The Industrial Revolution gave birth to the Technology Revolution, of which we are currently in the midst. Advancing technologies will lead us to new energy sources (as it did with nuclear energy). However, responsible energy stewardship can, and should, involve the continued use of fossil fuels.

Trevor Thomas is a Gainesville resident and regular columnist.