You know it’s time to run for the exit door when economists begin waxing poetic on how to “save the planet.” Of course, smart monkeys know the planet doesn’t need saving; we just need less monkeys screwing it up. (See last blog – The numbers game)
Take this pithy piece of nonsense, disguised as erudition – “…..the reason these greens thought the [economic] crisis could be the best thing that ever happened to the environment was fiscal. The argument was that cleaning up the banks and reviving the economy was going to do such damage to governments’ public finances, politicians would have no choice but to start taxing carbon.”
That’s from lovely Stephanie Flanders, the BBC‘s economics editor.
You have to hand it to the neo-greens, taxing folks during the worst recession in a generation is just plain genius. Especially when we all know it isn’t going to happen. At least, not in America.
The neo-greens are certainly faithful to their carbon root tips. But the Emperor remains buck naked despite the rhetorical ballyhoo. Ecology is about biology. And biology is about functioning ecosystems that inhale and exhale energy via a complex matrix of dependent/interdependent exchanges. All of it rests on an infrastructure of carrying capacity. Too many wolves equals a crash in the prey species. An explosion of rabbits is followed by an uptick in predators. And the cycle continues until the equation changes. But the end results follow population dynamics unfailingly. At least until primates with credit cards get involved.
The neo-green argument sells something akin to post-ecology, where technology trumps biology. The logic goes – “If only we could apply our technological mojo to the evils of human culture, the planet will be saved.” Saved for what – more of what got us into this mess to begin with? Stand by for a word from our sponsors: 6.8 billion consumers and counting……
What’s a fun-loving bandito to do? For starters, turn off the TV. Saddle up the palomino. Ride into the desert and wave at the moon. Rethink what it means to be happy.
“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.” Mark Twain.
posted by Mudd
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