An energy tax was proposed five years ago, with little success, so this time other measures will be used to increase the cost of fuel and encourage Americans to do more with less. A virtually identical list of policy prescriptions was trotted out to address the threats of oil depletion, foreign oil dependence, and even global cooling. Green activists have yet to find an environmental problem that is not best addressed with more government spending and increased federal regulation. Even if the theory of global warming is wrong, to have approached global warming as if it is real means energy conservation, so we will be doing the right thing anyway in terms of economic policy and environmental policy. Given the failed legacy of federal intervention, one might think that those who are truly concerned with protecting Mother Earth would have learned their lesson.
Governments are the greatest polluters on the planet.
Those nations with the greatest governmental controls over their economy suffered the worst environmental catastrophes. Even in market-oriented economies, most major environmental problems can be traced to governmental subsidies or a failure to protect property rights and market institutions. It is time for environmental activists to learn that environmental protection does not require more government. In most instances, it would do better with less. This is no less true in the context of global warming than any other.