Supply Side Environmentalism

Barbara Boxer (D. CA), the main author of the hideous S. 2191 climate bill defends a new concept - supply side environmentalism, defined as: Shrinking the economy to get less environmental impact. The idea is that if we are not working, we are not creating green house gasses. Of course the upside (less global warming) is undefinable and not practical using this approach, but the actual science is no longer important: it's the belief that we are doing something based on assumptions made by people who choose to fail when success is an option.

I, like many others, have been covering S 2191 for a while because this is the most far reaching legislation since the War on Poverty in the 1960's. And this legislation is the perfect vehicle to have the BIG discussion about the role of government, good intentions and all of the unintended consequences created by legislation like S.2191.

Unfortunately, the current political environment probably means that we have this discussion after we are in the middle of a nasty depression. So for now I can have hope that some day, the adults will have a seat at the table of power again - and 2191 certainly brings that date closer to fruition.