Women Who Find Ferrari Drivers Sexy Contribute to Global Warming?

We doubt this came up last week at the United Nation's conference on global warming in Bali, but Britain's top government scientist says the best thing women can do to ease global warming is "stop admiring young men in Ferraris."

Yes, you read that right. Sir David King, a chemist at the University of Cambridge, says the world would be a greener place if only women didn't find men in exotic cars so sexy. Taken at face value, it seems outlandish - and some would argue chauvinistic - but King raises a valid point, even if it is obscured by the "sports cars and the women who love men who drive them are bad" tenor of his argument.

King, the UK's chief scientific advisor, told the Telegraph there's only so much governments can do to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and real progress will come only through cultural change. People, he said, must take a greater personal role in addressing the issue. He singled out women who find drivers of expensive sports cars "sexy" and said they should instead focus their affection on men in more eco-friendly autos:

"I was asked at a lecture by a young woman about what she could do and I told her stop admiring young men in Ferraris. What I was saying is you have got to admire people who are conserving energy and not those willfully using it."

King's comments, as you might expect, brought a sharp rebuke from Ferrari owners...

King has long called for immediate and aggressive action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and he is widely credited with pushing the issue to the top of the British government's agenda. He is known for controversial comments, perhaps most famously his claim three years ago that global warming poses a greater threat than terrorism. King played a key role in pushing the U.K. to go beyond the emissions reductions outlined in the Kyoto Protocol, but tells the Telegraph:

"Government has so many levers it can pull - when it comes to the business sector, it is quite effective. As soon as you come to individuals, however, they will buy a Ferrari, not because it is cheap to run or has low carbon dioxide emissions, but because young women think it is sexy to see men driving Ferraris. That is the area where a culture change is needed."

Peter Everingham, secretary of the Ferrari Owners Club, tells the Telegraph "nearly 90 percent" of Ferrari owners are married and so "are not looking to impress women." It also should be noted that Ferrari is aware of its contribution, whatever it may be, to carbon dioxide emissions and vows to produce greener, more fuel efficient cars.

King claims he wasn't condemning Ferraris or those who might find their drivers sexy, but offering an example of the cultural shift that must occur if we are to seriously address global climate change.

It's a valid point. A survey earlier this year by the Pew Research Center found roughly three in four Americans believe global warming is real, but just 47 percent believe human activity - i.e. burning fossil fuels - is to blame. What's more, most Americans don't consider it a pressing issue. Another survey, by AC Nielsen, places the U.S. toward the bottom of 46 nations with regard to its attitudes on the issue.

Perhaps more telling, a recent survey of British consumers by the international business consulting firm LEK Consulting found 37 percent of respondents believed their actions were responsible for global warming, but only 20 percent thought they bear any responsibility to do something about it.

Most felt the problem should be addressed by the business and government sectors.