The Competetive Enterprise Institute has produced an amazing pair of television ads espousing the wonders of carbon dioxide. The most hysterical bit is the tagline at the end: "Carbon dioxide. They call it pollution. We call it life." To concentrate and preserve more of that precious life, I recommend that the members of CEI hold their breath, and keep holding.

Such nonsensical messages shouldn't be a surprise to anyone; CEI is largely funded by an industry with a vested interest in the continued production of "life". The Clean Air Trust identified Shell, GM, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler as contributers to CEI. ExxonMobil, for example, gave $405,000 to CEI in 2002, the largest contribution in the list of "Public information and policy research" donations by the company.