Just a week ago I had a post featuring some recent federal bureaucratic assaults against the well-being and prosperity of the population. The title was “Bureaucrats Completely Incapable Of Making Reasonable Trade-Offs.” The post featured two new rules from different corners of the federal bureaucracy, both announced on May 5: one from EPA effectively mandating electric automobiles by about 2032, and the other from the Department of Energy once again lowering the amounts of energy and water that dishwashers are allowed to use.
I stated in that post that these two new rules were just examples of a much broader federal war against our comfortable and convenient lifestyles. But to get a feel for the big picture, you need a more comprehensive list of the things the feds are trying to restrict and/or eliminate from your life. Now Noah Rothman comes along in the current issue of National Review with a much longer list, in a piece titled “The War on Things That Work.” (Although National Review has a paywall, you should get a free article or two per month, if you want to read the whole piece.)
One thing that Rothman’s list makes clear is that, although the regulations are principally rationalized as part of the fight against “climate change,” there are many respects in which the new restrictions have nothing whatsoever to do with the “climate” issue, even if you believe that greenhouse gases like CO2 are some kind of existential threat to humanity. For example, several of the restrictions in question relate to use of water, rather than energy. Other restrictions relate to the use of energy in the form of electricity, which in other contexts (like automobiles) the climate warriors call “zero emissions.” In the real world electricity is not “zero emissions” at all (because most of it comes from fossil fuels), but the climate warriors claim to believe that it is (because they think fossil fuels can be easily eliminated from the generation process), and if so, reducing the electricity use of various gadgets and appliances is also not a “climate” issue at all.
To underscore the point that most of these regulations have little to nothing to do with the climate issue, Rothman leads off his article with the well-known quote from one-time Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez chief of staff Saikat Chakrabarti:
“The interesting thing about the Green New Deal is it wasn’t originally a climate thing at all.” It was, in fact, “a how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy thing.”
So here, gathered from Rothman’s piece, is the list he has put together of some of the “things that work” that the government has currently gone to war against, or is considering going to war against: all appliances using natural gas (furnaces, stoves, hot water heaters, clothes dryers); hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants for air conditioners; dishwashers; lawn mowers and leaf blowers powered by gasoline or other fossil fuels; washing machines; incandescent light bulbs; and plastic bags and straws.
Consider some history of a few of these things:
Gas stoves.
The idea of banning gas stoves had largely proceeded at the local level until early this year. (The first U.S. municipality to ban new gas stoves was Berkeley, CA, in 2019. In April 2023 the federal Ninth Circuit threw out Berkeley’s ban on the grounds that it is pre-empted by federal law. Meanwhile New York has its own ban, put in place earlier this year as part of the state budget and taking effect in 2026.)
But the feds could not resist getting into the act. In January 2023, Richard Trumka, one of the commissioners of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, floated the idea of banning gas stoves on the ground that they are a “hidden hazard” because they cause indoor air pollution. (This despite decades of indoor burning of natural gas without any noted health effects.). That remark caused immediate pushback, including from Senators Cruz and Manchin, who proposed legislation to stop any such regulation. Chuck Schumer got into the act, issuing a statement on February 3 saying “you have to laugh at the ‘gas stove ban’ narrative being cooked up by the MAGA GOP.” Sure, Chuck. It took all the way to March 2, 2023 for the CPSC to follow up with a Request for Information, seeking public input on the supposed “chronic hazards associated with gas stoves.” The correct answer is “none,” but you can be sure that the CPSC is being flooded with input from environmental activists demanding that gas stoves be banned. As of now, they say that they have no plans on the table to ban gas stoves; but if you think that that isn’t coming, you are ridiculously naive.
Hydrofluorocarbons refrigerants in air conditioners.
EPA issued its proposed rule on this subject on December 9, 2022. According to the press release, the rule will “Advance Transition to Safer, More Efficient Heating and Cooling Technologies,” and will also save consumers “billions in costs.” Perhaps you are wondering, if the proposed replacement(s) for hydrofluorocarbons are really “safer,” “more efficient,” and will also save consumers big money, how could we be so stupid not to already have adopted these things? Rothman:
Put simply, the rule increases the cost of refrigerants, and those costs are passed on to the consumer. Even the anticipation of that increase has already made it more expensive to install new climate-control units.
Incandescent light bulbs.
Incandescent bulbs are much cheaper to buy than the newer and trendier LED bulbs, but they cost more to operate, and burn out more frequently. That’s a trade-off that different consumers might make differently. It turns out that there is a clear preference among low-income consumers for the incandescent bulbs, undoubtedly because of the cheaper up-front cost. Rothman:
[The] clear preferences of consumers, particularly low-income Americans [is for incandescent bulbs]. In 2018, University of Michigan researchers found that high-efficiency LED light bulbs “are more expensive and less available in high-poverty urban areas than in more affluent locations” and that the cost to upgrade “was twice as high in the highest-poverty areas.”
But the federal regulators are the place where elite preferences get imposed on everyone else, whether they can afford it or not. Rothman provides the following history of the light bulb regulations:
In 2007, George W. Bush signed a law designed to gradually phase out inefficient incandescent light bulbs. Barack Obama accelerated the phase-out by tightening efficiency standards via regulatory mechanisms. In 2019, however, the Trump administration rolled those requirements back, giving incandescent bulbs a new lease on life. But in 2022, Joe Biden’s Department of Energy reimposed Obama-era lumens-per-watt standards designed to finally bury the filament bulb.
Under the current regulations from the Department of Energy, the last date on which sale of incandescent bulbs will be permitted in in August 2023.
CPSC, EPA, Department of Energy. It’s the same thing for all of them: that indescribable thrill of exercising the vast federal power and showing who’s boss and making everybody’s life just a little bit worse by imposing your version of virtue by force. After all, you didn’t go to Washington and dedicate your life and career to writing regulations only to say that everything is already just fine as is. You need to prove that you are a big shot. You need to do something big. Maybe you could impose a lockdown. Failing that, banning some appliances that are cheap and work great would be one hell of a day’s work.
Here in the U.K. all politicians are determined to abolish gas central heating and replace it with heat pumps.
Before going into the mind-boggling figures behind this utterly absurd proposition it is worth bearing in mind that everyone agrees that gas central heating is efficient, heats radiators/water quickly etc. And although there are some supporters of heat pumps it’s fair to say that most people find them expensive, slow to warm a house up, are noisy and don’t work when the outside temperature falls below freezing.
But here’s the thing. The amount of CO2 generated by gas central heating in the U.K. equates to 0.000002% of the earth’s atmosphere. So our politicians are working towards junking a highly-efficient heating system for an expensive one that doesn’t actually work in order to produce a climate benefit that is too small to actually measure.
It’s almost as if they deliberately want to damage our nation. Sadly, there is a failure in journalism going on at the same time as it is not difficult to make these calculations but no journalists are pursuing this story.
In the United States maybe the idea of unfunded mandates ought to catch on for Federal Regulations. Failing that how about liability for mistaken mandates? I suppose personal liability is too much to ask for.
Well the idiots pushing this mass stupidity seem to support personal liability for police officers who harm anyone in the discharge of their duties, so they should be equally supportive of bearing such responsibility themselves.
It’s almost as if they deliberately want to damage our nation.
_________________________________________________
Almost? They are disciples of Maurice Strong see my post below:
“everyone agrees that gas central heating is efficient, heats radiators/water quickly etc.”
also, gas furnaces don’t need to be serviced nearly as often as an oil furnace
how often do heat pumps need routine servicing? my oil furnace (only a few years old) needs servicing every year at about $180
Our heat pump HVAC system is serviced twice a year. it works great as an air conditioner, but doesn’t heat well. If gas were available we would have it.
and that service is probably not cheap- another thing to add to the true cost of “clean and green energy”
Our two ton heat pump was designed into our 1,585 sq.ft. cabin when it was built 7 years ago. Other than replacing the two air filters twice a year and cleaning them three months later the system has been serviced once, and that was to clean the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers and verify the refrigeration pressures. But, we do use a wood stove in the winter, burn about 6 chords of Oak per year and use the heat pump for air distribution and for backup.
The more I read of the scientifically illiterate career politician decision making, the more I am convinced that the normally compliant English attitude, that to most people is hard wired, is being deliberately attacked and thereby diminished daily. The consequences are difficult to predict – I suppose some will acquiesce still, some won’t. I fear some will be pushed much further. All of the above stupidity might be now “current” but the have been developed over decades – but I cannot see how massive structural change forced onto people is “a good thing”…
If I remember correctly, burning natural gas in the home is even more efficient than burning it in a generating plant. Something like 30 percent more efficient.
The ideas of efficiency in a power plant versus a home are not comparable because the goals are different. In a power plant the goal (primary) is to supply electricity, and if the plant is a “peaker” then its efficiency is perhaps as low as 20% becuase of intermittent operation, but a CCGT plant could run as high as 50%. In a home the goal is to heat the house, or cook, or dry clothes and is simply the quantity of useful heat delivered to that liberated by combustion. Most furnaces or boilers are 80% efficient at the low end right up to about 95% efficient if they are “condensing” type burners. Efficiency is a slippery concept when the ultimate goals are different. But efficiency is not the only important metric — economics and convenience are too, and this complicates matters to the point that maybe personal choice and willingness to pay for one’s choice should be the deciding factors.
The cut to the quick is, Gas furnaces use far less gas to heat a home than the electric heat or heat pump from any gas turbine. The only way for electric heat to use less carbon is that the electricity has to come from hydro or nuclear. Saving the planet is not the agenda.
Setting aside the unnecessary and expensive mandate, I can tell you my heat pump works just fine. I live in the central US with temperature extremes as low as -20F and in excess of 100F and my heat pump works just fine. I live in a rural area and homes are typically all electric.
What is the difference in heat pumps in the US and UK?
Is yours an air-cycle or ground-cycle heat pump? I’ve heard that it makes a difference. Also, is your home super well insulated?
The heat pump is air source. The house is 30 years old, with 2×6 instead of 2×4 studs in the exterior walls with extra insulation, according to the original owners. Windows are original, not double paned or energy efficient.
Dear More Soylent Green,
I heard there are some good heat pumps and happy it works well for you. I live in California, so it is more the question about electrical reliability and cost. The Sierra winters can be rough as well, and my gas heat works great. However we do have electrical outages here as well as our Governor already said we needed to ration when we charged electric cars, right after saying we are going all electric. So if we mandate all things like heating, trains, buses, appliances and passenger automobiles to the grid two things will happen. Costs will skyrocket due to demand/supply issues (we are already the highest in electricity cost in the US,except Hawaii) and availability will be rationed. Interesting is who is impacted the most by costs…
Plus I like my gas stove, and hate cooking on electric. 🙂 Should be my choice. Also, another local Air Resources Board peddled the claim that gas stoves cause asthma. I asked for the study mentioned in the press release. Still not response.
My point is, “heat pumps don’t work” should be retired to the dustbin of rubbish and tired rhetoric. That’s complete BS, unless they are considerably different in the UK.
I also prefer cooking with gas. My wife and I may install a propane stove. It would also be wise to have a propane-powered genny for backup power. Electricity is going to get more expensive and less reliable in the future as the green craze is spreading everywhere, like a fungus.
I would have chosen to use natural gas or propane for heating and cooking if I built this house. The house came with a heat pump HVAC system. If I were building a home today, I would strongly consider natural gas (in town) or propane (here in the sticks). With the current regulatory environment, that might be a bad choice.
And having had a couple of heat pumps in homes for auxiliary heating, plus the experience of using them in a commercial building I constructed long ago, I can tell you they have real limitations. If the evaporator side of the pump is at -20F, which is what I assume you mean, then you are not using a “heat pump” but rather an electric resistance heater and the coefficient of performance (COP) drops to below 1.0. At moderate evaporator temperatures (40F) the COP can be as high as 3 or a bit more. I never found heat pumps produce a comfortable heat if they are paired with forced-air. The plenum is hot enough to heat the home but is not comfortable in the light breeze from the ducts.
Yes. You hit the nail on the head. It isn’t that heat pumps “don’t work”, it’s that the way they work can make for an uncomfortable living space in very cold weather. Many years ago my cousin asked my grandmother and I to come over and babysit his kids while he and his wife went out for the night. That night it was in the lower teens (12-13F) and windy. Both my grandmother and I spent the evening freezing while entertaining the kids. I kept looking at the thermostat in disbelief, as it was set to (and apparently was maintaining) a temp of 70F. All the while cold air came pouring out of the floor registers….We got as far from those as possible but were still cold.
Flash forward to a few years ago, and I paid a visit to my husband’s house (this was before we married) on a cold winter evening, temps in the upper teens. As soon as we entered the home, I was blasted from overhead registers with cold, drafty air! And yes, the house had a heat pump.
Finally, earlier this year I began work in a new client’s home. I felt chilly (it wasn’t real cold outside, maybe in the 40’s) and I was astounded when the thermostat was set at 74F. It felt cooler there than in my own home that I keep at 68F all winter!
But, I have oil fired base board heat, and the client’s home had – you guessed it – a heat pump.
As an aside, while I’ve never lived in a house with a heat pump (and never plan on doing so), I can say that baseboard or radiator heating is by far nicer than forced air with regards to comfort. It heats up just as quickly (assuming you have some sort of combustible fuel to do the heating work and a pump to circulate the water) and is devoid of drafts and the air is less dry. It is more expensive to install and takes more to maintain, but it is so much nicer!
I would add that the cousin’s house was brand new at the time, so that could not explain why we were freezing while there. The house itself wasn’t drafty, but the “heating” system sure was!
Funny I live in Arizona and my heat pump need electric resistive heating to back it up. I can tell when the resistive heating kicks on. Are you certain you only have a heat pump.
Has anyone done a study on the refrigerants used in most heat pumps? Frankly I think that gas is far better for us and the environment than some of these.
My heat pump gas is flammable some call that progress. As far a efficiently goes each new furnace/heat pump I have installed with the newest and latest refrigerant uses more electricity to do the same job. Considering the Ozone hole has not change in my lifetime the whole thing is a farce.
Well argued, Francis.
Meanwhile, a pandemic of Madness is sweeping what used to the the leading nations of the globe.
Here is another probnlem getting worse. The United Nations body WHO, the world health organisation.
Have a listen to this short video and weep.
Then, contemplate how it is possible for WHO to take over world health without asking your doctor ormine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixnqF6vEufA
We must keep up criticism and publicity about this dangerous Madness of Crowds.
Geoff S
Until the middle of the 20th century the entire world, save for the West, was under the rule of dictators or kings. Even today most of the world governments are based on government knows best. ” I am/we are in charge”, is perhaps the default for humans. And now the US has begun to abandon the constitutional premise that the individual is source of governmental authority. With the current generation being indoctrinated in school to despise everything Western, I fear we are lost. “You will own nothing and be happy.”
One silver lining in the U.K. is our leading authority on Elizabethan woman as reader – Green MP Caroline Lucas – is standing down
Trebles all round
Yes, Strativarius, but she says she’s doing it so that she can concentrate on Saving the Planet without the distractions of being not only a party leader but also her party’s sole MP (or words to that effect). Be careful what you wish for…
Yes, she’s going to spend more time with the planet
Lucky old planet…
Help us poor Yanks out will ye?
“Elizabethan woman as reader”
“standing down”
“Trebles all round”
Standing down is resigning and trebles might be winning three trophies in football, so all round – everyone gets a triple win? Still not clear what those wins might be.
But Google provides no guidance whatsoever on “Elizabethan woman as reader”.
yup, when are those Brits gonna learn to speak gud American! 🙂
Amurican
oh, right- that’s what “W” used to say along with nuck-lear
Ain’t gunna happen! 😎
“Help us poor Yanks out will ye?”
Please! 🙂
I had a brainstorm. Translate your post into German with Google Translate and back to English. Here’s what I got:
“A bright spot in Britain is our leading authority on Elizabethan women as the reader – Green MP Caroline Lucas – resigns
Threesomes everywhere”
Kinky Brits!
The English-French-English roundtrip says you’re smoking something:
“ A silver lining in the UK is our main authority on Elizabethan woman as reader – Green MP Caroline Lucas – steps down
Highs everywhere”
If I can help our foreign readers here. – For “reader” read “leader”, and, “Trebles all round” comes from the satirical magazine “Private Eye” where it was used in one of the comic strips.
“Standing down” refers to not standing again for parliament. (i.e. she’s had a snout-full!)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Writing-Women-Example-Elizabethan-Romance/dp/0335090184
Caroline Book
Well if we have to explain everything….
A treble is 3 shots in a glass, as opposed to a double (2) or a single (1) usually of some sort of alcoholic beverage!
“After all, you didn’t go to Washington and dedicate your life and career
to writing regulations only to say that everything is already just fine as is.”
__________________________________________________________
And just maybe some of these regulators went to Washington because
just like the late Maurice Strong they believe that the only hope for the
planet is the collapse of industrialized civilizations and that it’s their
responsibility to bring that about.
There certainly are some like that, on a mission to collapse Western civilization, but I tend to think that most of them are looking for the pot of gold.
Why go to all the trouble trying to sell something of value to a private citizen who expects the thing to work when you can sell something worthless to a government or to a victim consumer forced by government regulation?
“Incandescent bulbs are much cheaper to buy than the newer and trendier LED bulbs, but they cost more to operate, and burn out more frequently.”
Not so sure of that- that is, how long LED bulbs last. I now have them everywhere in my house. On the label, they often say something like “expect to last 20 years”. Yet, I’ve had many fail in less than a year.
How new is your RCD fuse breaker connected to the feed into your home……
It’s as old as the house- about 35 years. I don’t know what RCD is. Should I be concerned about it?
We were told the same thing about compact fluorescent bulbs. They would last for years and save us so much money. Those pieces of junk died quicker than incandescent bulbs.
And, at least here in Woke-achusetts, you can’t put them in your trash- they MUST be recycled- which means bring them to a recycling center and PAY to dispose of them- because they have mercury in them.
I guarantee that I Can put them in the trash.
What shortens the life of CF bulbs (Maybe LEDs also) is the one/off cycle.
Back before GW Bush started the phase out of incandescent bulbs, I put a CF bulb in my outdoor pole light because I got tired of changing it so often.
We turned it on at night and off in the morning.
It finally died about two years ago. It lasted twice as long as advertised.
But how many hours per year are you using them, v the manufacturer’s idea of normal use? Our’s are three – four years old and doing fine
Yes, the hours of use are the limiting factor.
One big difference between LED bulbs and incandescent bulbs is that LED bulbs don’t just burn up and stop working once they reach the end of their lifespan. Instead, they slowly degrade, their maximum brightness getting lower and lower over time.
So the less you use them the longer they last! Who woulda thunk it?
However having a whole house surge protector helps a lot.
Yes I think they have cheapened LED bulbs, and their life is not as long as their initial promise suggested.
And they don’t usually just “go out,” like incandescent bulbs, they slowly get dimmer – it’s almost like being gaslighted. Is it getting darker in here, or is it just me?!
Some brands burn out quickly, others last quite a while.
When the kitchen fan was replaced last year, the workers put in 4 new LED bulbs. I don’t remember what the brand was, but I had never heard of it before.
Within 4 months they had all burned out.
I replaced them with the LED bulbs that had been in the old fixture.
I have LEDs everywhere except lights that are rarely used. They are all 8 years old and older.
I think when some of these things came out, they did last longer at first. I have CFL bulbs that are pushing 20 years old, but I only use them occasionally. The only thing I hate about the LEDs is that when they start to die, they flicker like a strobe light. This is highly annoying, and even worse if they are in a fixture that’s hard to access. It wouldn’t be so bad if they just went dark like the old filament bulbs.
I used to be able to get incandescent bulbs rated for 130V, they’d last 15 years or so. The tungsten filament eventually dies from electro-migration. At least that was the problem using tungsten circuitry in ICs.
From the article: Just a week ago I had a post featuring some recent federal bureaucratic assaults against the well-being and prosperity of the population. The title was “Bureaucrats Completely Incapable Of Making Reasonable Trade-Offs.” The post featured two new rules from different corners of the federal bureaucracy”
Speaking of federal bureaucracies: Jason Chaffetz has written an important book titled “The Puppeteers”. It’s a book about who is *really* running the United States: radical leftwing bureacrats entrenched in the federal bureacracy.
Chaffetz gives one starling proof of this in the first few pages of his book stating that of the 14 federal bureacracies that exist, 95 percent of the political contributions coming from them went to Hillary Clinton in 2016. That ought to tell you all you need to know. The radical Democrats have managed to put their people in strategic positions in the federal bureacracy over the years, and they run things the way *they* want, not the way the People want.
Part I of the book is titled “The Pretext of Climate Change” (story tip)
The author says climate change is now the radical Left’s chief mechanism for taking control of the people and the country.
Seems we’re about to drain the swamp in Oz-
‘Come clean’: Michaelia Cash demands ‘full explanation’ on Labor’s involvement with Higgins (msn.com)
I suspect Albo might be having second thoughts about demanding more women in politics. Popcorn time folks!
It must be disheartening to come to Washington with great plans for change and find all the low hanging fruit has been harvested. And also the fruit above that. But never fear, with their idealism and socialist education, they will find a few projects upon which they can focus. This might be termed “government by niche”. never mind the whole picture.
There is a type of person whose favorite word is “no.” This type of person is a sour sort, deeply unhappy, who disapproves of pretty much everything in life that brings happiness. What little joy they feel comes from thwarting the happiness and achievements of others. These people staff the bureaucracies and, increasingly, the faculties of our universities.
That used to describe a puritan. Now it defines a leftard.
Sounds like my firstborn at the age of 2.
“No!”
But she did get better, only took 30 years.
There is one bit of good news in this over regulation frenzy. They have lost all the subtlety they use to have. They have become so obvious that they can’t be ignored by anyone anymore. This frenzy is happening because they know that their reign of error is coming to an end.
Reassigning all DOE, EPA, and CPSC employees to herding goats through poison oak thickets (one must deal with wildfires, now, don’t we?) might deal with their whimsical tyranny.
But the goatherds must be paid OT, at least in California.
I don’t think the State of California can regulate Federal employees.
Well not regulate federal employees but influence other states and the EPA, sure. They do often lead and others follow.
CARB was established in 1967 under then-Gov. Ronald Reagan as the state’s “clean air agency.” Situated within the state’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CARB is the only state agency with federal EPA clearance to set its own emission standards — a power CARB has used to curtail air pollution in its state and push progressive air quality policy across the country.Other states can and have joined CARB, including Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington state and Washington D.C. Basically, their emissions standards are stricter than federal requirements, so if you hear the term CARB states, that’s what they’re talking about.
I’m certain many people join the EPA and other regulatory agencies in order to force their beliefs of ‘what is good’ on the rest of us. Isn’t that what they learn in college?
As for the rest, they have to create regulations to justify their employment. Agencies don’t hire bureaucrats to reduce regulations. More regulations equals more funding equals more power.
And don’t forget careerism. The Biden regime wants more green regulations. What better way to get promoted then to give the bosses what they want?
I heard Joe Manchin in an interview saying they are stopping banning of gas appliances, however, from my local perspective that is not the case. In fact the local Air Resources Board (Bay Area Air Quality Management District) is banning natural gas furnaces and water heaters. They claim they cause dozens (85) of early deaths’. (is that even statically significant?) In the press release:
https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/communications-and-outreach/publications/news-releases/2023/barules_230315_2023_003-pdf.pdf?la=en&rev=d2a6897ab69b4ae58a98ead286667269
They claim not to be banning gas stoves, (my comment –now), but if they believe: “Exposure to NOx has been linked to coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, asthma and increased susceptibility to respiratory infections.” they will not stop there. I asked for the Asthma study, but have not heard back.
Also, if CARB bans the gas connections that will override local rules. In fact look at California Air Resources Board (CARB) Ban on gas and space water heaters found on pages 100-103 in the State SIP Strategy for 2022 page 102. They will expand I am sure of that.
Furthermore, as this proposal is developed, this measure may be expanded to include other end-uses.
A statewide zero-emission standard for space and water heaters has the potential to reduce 13.55 tpd NOx in 2037. If the statewide zero-emission standard was expanded to include cooking, clothes drying, and all other end-uses of natural gas in residential and commercial buildings, it would have the potential to reduce 19.96 tpd NOx in 2037.Underline my emphasis.
There is also a State war on lifestyles. – California is a leading state in taxes, homelessness and cost of living all while not maintaining roads or safety. Apparently they want to make sure the keep that lead.
to confirm what AOC has said – the former head of the UNIPCC has stated that the environmental movement is more about the destruction of capitalism than the climate – so what we have at the heart is just a bunch of anti-capitalists riding roughshod over us all – but what they can’t answer is how all these cutbacks affect anything when they are more than offset by massive increases in GHG by China -it looks like the West is hell bent on economic suicide to let China become the dominant country in the world
We need to start eliminating federal departments. They have proven incompetent and costly. If anyone thinks there is a federal department that has fulfilled its intended purpose when created I would be curious to know which one.
Love the last paragraph of the article, it’s spot on.