GREENS: The Side Effects People.
When a cartoonist wants to portray a person as being ill, they make their face green. I believe there is a direct correlation between that concept and the fact that environmentalists are called Greens. These people are sick.
When pharmaceutical companies advertise prescription drugs, they are required by law to reveal possible side effects. Sometimes, listening to a list of these side effects is downright scary. Yet, physicians and dentists continue to prescribe these medicines. They know that the benefits of their prescriptions far outweigh the risks.
Sadly, there are side effects to almost everything. Happily we have learned to weigh the benefits against the risks and make an intelligent judgement. We, that is, meaning everyone but the Greens.
The recent, tragic aircraft crash near Buffalo, NY, again brought out fears of air travel. Okay, these fears are real, but the actual risks are very small. This was the first fatal air crash in two and one half years - some 900 days of thousands of airplanes flying over virtually every inch of this nation, with not one fatal accident.
There are risks involved in any form of modern transportation. Believe it or not, my paternal grandmother died from injuries received when a horse was spooked and threw her from her buggy.
Paul Driessen recently wrote a great column about the use of coal in generating electricity. Driessen admits that some 24,000 Americans die annually from respiratory problems, lung cancer and heart disease, and that burning coal emits soot particles that exacerbate these ailments. Then Driessen goes on to inform us that, since 1970, power plant pollutants have been reduced by almost 95% per unit of energy produced.
So much for the side effects and what is being done about them. Driessen then went on to document that coal helps keep American homes, businesses, factories, airports, schools and hospitals humming. Coal generates half of all U.S. electricity - 60-98% in 22 states. The number of lives saved or improved by the use of coal so outweighs the damages caused that it renders it idiotic to even compare the two.
Yet, the greens successfully block the construction of coal powered generating plants, along with oil refineries, nuclear powered generators, wind farms, and drilling for oil or natural gas. These whackos refuse to acknowledge that modern technology has eliminated many risks. They prefer to remain mired in the thinking of the past.
At U.C. Santa Barbara, scientists have proven that pumping oil from one off-shore platform relieved pressure from oil beneath the floor of the sea. This greatly reduced oozing and actually cleaned up the Santa Barbara beaches. Still, many other off-shore platforms sit idle, blocked by greens from pumping oil.
The next time you are confronted by some wide-eyed person handing out literature promoting one green cause or another, tell them you are willing to discuss the side effects of whatever it is they oppose, if they will acknowledge the benefits.
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I would be interested in hearing an estimate of how much more we have to pay for things because of the environmental movement. I'll wager it's a significant markup.
ReplyDeleteIn the spendulus bill, Harry Reid snuck in $8 billion at the last minute for a high speed rail line connecting LA and Las Vegas. (But don't you DARE call it an EARMARK!) We're supposed to be creating jobs, with "shovel ready" projects - I heard that it will take FIVE YEARS to complete the environmental impact study! And, presumably, if the impact is too great, the line will never be built...what happens to the money? Does it stay in the government coffers? Or does it end up in corrupt politicians' pockets?
After 60 years in the same old building, there is a project underway to build a new facility for the old Bendix plant. They have been getting bids, drawing up plans, etc. for about two years now. One big hurdle was the environmental impact study. We cleared it, but only because of money. If we move, we will be leasing a privately owned building, instead of occupying a government owned facility as we do now. I don't remember the exact numbers, but the property tax revenue dollars are enormous (in the millions)...enough to look the other way regarding possible environmental impact.
To give you an idea how insane it is...if we hooked up a garden hose to a faucet and ran Kansas City, MO city water out onto the ground, we would be cited for polluting. City water, straight out of the tap! I like clean air and water, too, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. And these green freaks are complete wackos!