Environmentalism

The innocuous-sounding "Cap and Trade" bill wending its way through congress presents a timely opportunity for a discussion of the larger topic of environmentalism.

Cap and Trade is designed to inflict so much pain on consumers that, according to the liberal theology, they will respond with energy conservation and demand their power companies provide cheaper energy from government-endorsed "clean and renewable" sources.

The party in power, led by the recently crowned President, have declared a global crisis, which was first trumpeted by their former Vice-President and environmental activist Al Gore, as "Global Warming". Due to recent inconvenient climate cooling trends, the crisis has been re-labeled "Global Climate Change".

The message to all of is goes something like this: We Americans are living too high on the hog. We use too much energy, in fact way more than our share. We live in houses that are too big, drive vehicles that guzzle too much petroleum, buy too much unnecessary stuff from industries that spew pollution into the atmosphere. Our spoiled behavior is wrecking the planet, and it's far past time for the government to step in and force us to be good stewards of the environment.

Shrinking polar ice caps will raise the sea level and cause whole coastal states to slip beneath the waves. Catastrophic storms, failed crops, mass extinctions of flora and fauna, and other unspoken consequences will make the planet uninhabitable.

Anyone with the temerity to argue with these self-righteous "greens" is a member of the flat-earth society. They're called "ignorant", "oil company toadies", and "Climate Change Deniers". The science on this subject is "settled", and no competent climate scientist would dare challenge the tenets of the Church of Global Climate Change.

The topic holds some interest for me, so I've tried to learn whatever I can. I'm certainly no climate scientist, and am willing to approach the whole environmental topic with an open mind. I certainly think it's a good idea to do what we can to protect our natural resources, keep our water and air clean, and protect wildlife.

But the more I delve into the "science" behind the whole climate change question, the more I question the true motives of its proponents. Since a main conclusion I've reached is that those pushing hardest on the Cap and Trade bill are doing so based on a fervor that more resembles a cultish religion than science, I will refer to their crusade as part of the Church of Global Climate Change.

The High Priest of this movement is Al Gore, the former liberal Vice-President who has long carried the environmentalist banner, writing a couple of decades ago something about the most evil invention ever created by the human race being the internal combustion engine.

Now Gore has positioned himself to make billions of dollars when congress passes the Cap and Trade bill, which will make him one of the most powerful individuals in the world. Which seems to be his alternative strategy for achieving such power after losing the Presidency to George W Bush in 2000. While he jets around the world on his private plane and lives it up on his country estate, dwarfing the so-called "carbon footprint" created by about 99.9% of the rest of us, I can't help but suspect he may be more of a false prophet than a High Priest of Global Climate Change.

The other way I evaluate this whole topic is by simply listen to its most ardent disciples. They are appalled at American prosperity, believing it's somehow unfair to the rest of the world. They think it's wrong that Americans can live in nice houses with manicured lawns and raise children in suburbia, ferrying them to soccer matches in the family Suburban.

My conclusion is that while many of these folks may indeed be true believers in the Church of Global Climate Change, they have a larger agenda in mind. They think there are too many people crowding the planet, and want to force the rest of us to limit our families to 1 child. It seems to fit nicely with their equally ardent support of abortion, and many (like Hillary, for example) have admitted an admiration for China's government-enforced one child policy.

They think we all should live in small apartments in the city and ride the train and/or ride a bicycle to and from work every day. They think everyone should make about the same salary, except for their leaders, who somehow deserve special perks and priviledges like those enjoyed by their High Priest because they're such awesome protectors of the environment.

They want the government to provide cradle-to-grave matermalistic oversight in every aspect of our lives, from where we live to where we work to what we eat to what we drive (if we must drive) to what medical care we may or may not receive.

I visited the Soviet Union in the 70's, and interestingly the above describes that society pretty accurately. Rather than go into the human misery and hopelessness I witnessed there, I'll summarize the trip in this manner: It made me appreciate my American way of life in a way I'd never considered before making that trip.

So it's becoming obvious to me that Cap and Trade, along with Healthcare Reform, are not working their way through congress to improve the environment or increase access of Americans to medical care. They are about transforming America from the Land of the Free to the Socialist States of America.