Delaying the Great, Green Luxury Tax

By: Repair_Man_Jack (Diary)  |  March 18th at 11:00 AM  | 

Despite many improvements in air and water quality, the planetary environment on Earth remains less than perfect. Skeptics disbelieving this statement are inclined to point out the flawed and dishonest science of Michael Mann and his happy band of chic climate agonists. They then remind us all of the baronial arrogance behind such monstrous legislation as The Warmer-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act. Defending my statement against these mockers is as easy as googling “China, drinking water, dead pigs.” The Tragedy of The Commons described by Garrett Hardin has truly come to pass in much of the Modern World.

So the knee-jerk reaction to all of this is to assume the Left is right and that we have no hope of salvation without an industry-crippling carbon tax. One way to test the truth of this hypothesis would be to examine the actions of powerful, Left-leaning political figures empowered to work their will on environmental policy in the face of ineffective opposition. If they really had the answer, and the field was clear for Red Grange to run wild, then they would be off to the end zone with the latest Carbon Tax or regulatory ukase. Yet in both Europe and in America, such is not the case, and therein lies an interesting tale.

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Fiat Lux

By: Repair_Man_Jack (Diary)  |  January 31st at 05:00 PM  | 

Light may not have mass, momentum, charge or a chemical formula, but it now shares an important distinction with many elements found on The Periodic Table. In France, light is being regulated as a pollutant. The Guardian UK shares details below.

Shops and offices throughout France will be forced to turn off their lights overnight in a bid to fight light pollution, the country’s environment ministry has announced. Under the new law, which comes into effect on 1 July, lights in shop window displays will be turned off at 1am. Interior lights in offices and other non-residential buildings will have to be switched off an hour after the last employee leaves.

The goal of the law is actually to prevent CO2 emissions which French Ecology Minister Delphine Batho seems to believe are harming the planet. The proponents of this tactical retreat to ages before Edison claim it will save enough energy to power 750,000 French households every year. It once again amazes me what depredations of liberty are possible when they are sold as environment-friendly policy.

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U.N.’s Carbon Credits Create Perverse Incentives

By: Steve Maley (Diary)  |  August 9th at 04:00 PM  | 

It seems harmless enough when an airline offers their customers “green indulgences” in the form of carbon credits when buying a ticket. The credits are intended to resolve the guilt the customer is supposed to feel for his wanton use of fossil fuels. In practice, the credits have become a perverse incentive for practices that are exactly opposite what the U.N. intended when it created | Read More »

Frack Global Warming

By: Repair_Man_Jack (Diary)  |  July 18th at 12:00 PM  | 

Good morning. Excellent news abounds. The United States has significantly lowered its airborne emissions of CO2. This is truly positive news, given that the US EPA and many members of Congress view this pollutant with such concern that they would willingly consign the economy to a system of CO2 permits that would limit what can be produced, consumed and enjoyed by every American. The news | Read More »