The most consistent and nauseating feature of the environmental movement is its profound narcissism, which manifests primarily in two ways:
1) The belief that the mean global temperature of the current (or last) century is “the” correct state of affairs, any deviation from which is abhorrent and unnatural, and which must be maintained in perpetuity.
2) The belief that they, the environmentally anointed, can understand – and effect – something as intricately complex as the climate of the entire planet.
Imagine some beings living some 635 million years ago when the entire planet was covered in ice, a recurring condition in Earth’s history known as “Snowball Earth.” Imagine these beings saying, “This planetary ice cube is the natural state of the Earth, we must make sure it stays this temperature forever!”
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Gov. Perry’s Energy Speech
Vance Ginn, Master Resource, 18 October 2011
“Absurd” Green Targets Driving Business Abroad
James Chapman, Ruth Sunderland, & Sean Poulter, Daily Mail, 18 October 2011
Electric Car Chargers Idling
Drew Thornley, Planet Gore, 17 October 2011
Green Policies Are Regressive
Lisa Margonelli, Slate, 17 October 2011
Government Support for Solar Remains an Economic Drag
Lachlan Markay, Scribe, 17 October 2011
The Washington Times today has an editorial chiding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its decision to proceed with approval and support for higher blends of ethanol (E15) to be sold nationally. There are still a number of complications that seem likely to get in the way of (i.e., the lack of price competitiveness) of widespread use of E15, but recent decisions by the EPA are unfortunately steering the country down that path. However, the editorial makes one comment that doesn’t seem quite right:
This issue highlights the danger of allowing liberal zealots to set public policy. They are so obsessed with micromanaging the lives of others and fulfilling their environmental fantasies that they give no thought whatsoever to the real-world consequences of their schemes.
As a fuel, ethanol is highly corrosive. The E15 gasoline blend reduces gas mileage by 6 percent compared to real gasoline. That adds up to about $150 a year for the average vehicle owner. This expense and the mechanical danger serve absolutely no purpose beyond filling the pockets of wealthy farming giants. Congress needs to repeal the ethanol mandate to protect American pocketbooks – and the car warranties of millions of motorists.
Assuming they are using ‘liberal’ in the liberal versus conservative sense, ethanol has (both historically and to this day) been supported by both liberals and conservatives alike. Indeed, true market-oriented politicians oppose interventions in our energy markets. However, those politicians are few and far between as politicians from both sides rarely have issue with sacrificing their alleged principles in order to support local constituencies or interest groups. [click to continue…]
“When paperwork gets in the way of benefits, that’s a problem.” So said John Bemis, Secretary-designate of New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, appointed by Governor Susana Martinez. What is significant about Bemis’ comment, made during a presentation in front of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association’s Annual meeting on October 3, is that it represents a total change in attitude from the previous administration and is indicative of the difference one person—at the top—can make.
The change in attitude in NM presents a case study from which the rest of the US would be wise to learn.
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If there was ever a bully that deserved detention, it is the bureaucrats that run unchecked at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. One only has to listen to the heartbreaking accounts of ordinary, innocent American citizens who have been treated like criminals by this rogue agency to get a sense of a Goliath crushing David into the ground. Senator Rand Paul’s roundtable forum, “Property Wrongs: A Discussion with Victims of the U.S. Government’s Assault on Private Property,” held on October 12, 2011, gave folks who have been bullied by government agencies the chance to share their disheartening realities with the public.
The discussion began with Sen. Paul addressing the problems we face today: keeping up with the myriad regulations imposed upon the individual by unelected, unaccountable, faceless bureaucrats. Instead of the passage of laws by Congress, where public debate and influence can be exercised, agencies like the EPA rule by administrative fiat, which is leading to exorbitant penalties that do not fit the “crime.” The agencies responsible for this over-criminalization of laws have taken a toll on property owners and their faith in the government as the protector of their rights.
The once lovely face of Lady Liberty now wears the quintessential looks of the mean kid on the playground: class bully. The saying “Because I said so”, comes to mind. Rand Paul is working on a bill targeted at putting bureaucracy bullies in a well-deserved time-out. The stories I will share are of those who have been bullied specifically by the EPA’s ever-expansive interpretation of its own authority under the Clean Water Act.
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On November 16, the EPA is expected to publish a final regulation setting Maximum Achievable Control Technology for coal-fired power plants (the “Utility MACT”). It would be the most expensive regulation, ever. According to the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, the price tag is as much as $100 billion a year. Coal supplies almost 50% of America’s electricity, yet there isn’t a single coal-fired power plant in the country that currently meets the standards set forth by the regulation. Outrageously, the EPA’s primary justification for the Utility MACT is to protect America’s supposed population of pregnant, subsistence fisherwomen from mercury.
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Perry Releases Energy Plan
Texas Governor Rick Perry on 14th October gave a major speech on energy policy at a steel plant near Pittsburgh. His campaign also released an energy policy white paper that spells out the details of Perry’s policy commitments. In short, Perry as President promises to increase oil and gas production quickly and substantially on federal lands and offshore areas; block or repeal all the Obama Administration’s new Clean Air Act regulations, including regulation of greenhouse gas emissions; radically downsize the Environmental Protection Agency and turn local environmental issues over to the States; stop allowing environmental law to be made by settling lawsuits with environmental pressure groups with consent decrees; and eliminate all federal energy mandates and subsidies. Perry claims that his plan will provide a major boost to economic growth and create 1.2 million new jobs. Looking over the plan, my guess is that 1.2 million jobs is a lowball figure if his proposals were fully implemented.
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Occupy Wall Street is a chaotic collection of people with conflicting messages. According to the New York Times, they represent “A feeling of mass injustice.” They want to:
- make banks safer, and let them fail,
- name and shame fat cat salarymen,
- free legislators from special interests, and
- change the United States’ two-party system.
One sign seems to cancel out another. Some, like “End the Fed,” could be seen at a Ron Paul or Tea Party rally. Some, like “unf*#@ the world,” are vague. Others, like, “Smash Capitalism, Liberate the Planet,” represent an underlying mindset.
It would be easy to write them off as a group of kooks who will go away after they have had their ten minutes of fame. However, what began as an apparent grassroots movement may have been high-jacked. Commenting on Occupy Wall Street, Nancy Pelosi said “God bless them.” According to the Washington Post, “Prominent House Democrats are embracing the Occupy Wall Street protests” and CNN reports that labor unions have pledged their support: “Wall Street protests swelled Wednesday to their largest numbers yet, after local unions pledged support to a third week of demonstrations against income inequality, corporate greed, corruption and a list of other social ills.” Rush Limbaugh believes George Soros money is behind the protests.
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As a lifelong sufferer of asthma, I have always depended on inhalers to provide me with fast-acting, lifesaving medicine. Fortunately, I am able to afford expensive prescription inhalers, but many Americans hit hard by the faltering economy are not so lucky.
Until now, however, there has been a cheaper option for low-income families—over-the-counter, epinephrine-based inhalers have helped an estimated 1-2 million people treat their asthma for about $20 per unit (the prescription brands can cost up to 3 times that amount).
But now thanks to our out-of-control federal government, low-income Americans will be denied this over-the-counter relief as of December 31.
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