In the history of mankind, no group or government has enacted policies that were capable of controlling or managing the climate. While there are examples of policies that have resulted in the improvement of local environments, these policies have typically produced extreme negative effects via the unintended consequences of these poorly thought-out actions.
Case in point, California’s efforts to clean the air in the ’80s. It worked. However, now approximately 76 percent of wells in the Bay Area of Northern California are poisoned with MBTE, the additive used to reduce air pollution. This corruption of ground water in California is widespread. In a state with a population of 30 million-plus, which has always had a problem obtaining sufficient water for its populace, the issue of water supply is now impacting that state’s ability to supply water to its farmers in the breadbasket of America. Tens of thousands of farmers in Central California are now unemployed. Clearly, if nothing is done the rest of us will see the prices of the food we eat skyrocket and other negative economic and social impacts.
You can bet your future that energy policies which penalize or outright deny the use of coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear power and tax the production of CO2 (a gas necessary to all plant life) will have similar extreme negative impacts on the economy and public welfare with no contribution to the control of the climate.
Gordon Cook
Carrboro