A left-wing guest on “Hannity” tonight said we should stop enriching OPEC. He also said oil drilling off of the US coast is unacceptable because drilling platforms spoil the view. So which is it? Either energy production is most important or the esthetic values of people like him are most important. He can’t have it both ways. (The Left’s third alternative — forcing automobile companies to sell more small cars, hybrids and plug-in electric vehicles — is a false one, because Americans prefer larger vehicles and because increased vehicle efficiency leads to more driving.)
So much of leftist thought comes down to a childish unwillingness to acknowledge real-world tradeoffs.
Also, people often assume that “energy independence” and “carbon reduction” are achieved by the same technologies & programs. This is far from true. If the main thing you care about is energy independence, then you will like coal. If the main thing you care about is CO2 reduction, you will hate it.
BTW, does anyone know how plug-in hybrids are treated under the new Obama/industry mileage & emissions agreement? I’ve been unable to find either the text of the agreement or any coverage which provides serious depth. Specifically, I’m interested in whether plug-in hybrids are charged (in the MPG calculation) for the fuel component of the electricity they use, or whether it is assumed that this comes from either the electricity fairy or from yet-to-be-developed magical technologies.
No. It is just that they want you to make the sacrifice.
There’s no inconsistency. You’re assuming that the commentator doesn’t want us to be poorer.
John is right: For most of the left, mass poverty is not a bug but a feature.
Caption of cartoon of king strangling wizard, by libertarian Alexis Gilliland: “And the country’s going to STAY poor, you fool! How many rich countries have kings?!”
The most frightening thing about Obama is his energy policy. It doesn’t make sense and he seems oblivious, as do his supporters. I have been calling this the Children’s Crusade but we are being dragged along on it.
A hypocrisy and willful ignorance captured best by the Kennedy clan’s opposition to wind farms near their Cape Cod property. We will pay a severe price for these delusions, especially the madness of denying nuclear energy’s many benefits.