When big government claims it will "save us" from climate change, I recall the Star Trek movie where the misguided probe runs amok, considering the "carbon based lifeforms" (humans) as an infestation. Environmental extremists which have infiltrated or lobbied our government appear to feel the same. The Environmental Protection Agency has even declared Carbon Dioxide a "pollutant" and thus claims the power to regulate it, despite the fact that CO2 resulting from human activity contributes less than 1% to the "greenhouse effect." (Water vapor is the main contributor.)
When NASA looks for signs of life on distant planets, one important factor is the existence of Carbon Dioxide, a building block of life on Earth. If humans produced zero CO2, the change in the atmospheric level would remain within the range of normal fluctuations since most of it comes from natural sources.
While the Wisconsin Legislature has not passed any new regulations on CO2 emissions, the EPA now claims authority to impose by regulation what has been defeated through the legislative process at the state and national levels. This week, the Department of Natural Resources will consider new regulations to reduce emissions. Hopefully, common sense and science will prevail and they will ignore Washington's mandate.
A spokesman for the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce explained that, "the cost to utilities to comply with [new regulations] is going to passed on to customers." Those customers obviously include the dwindling number of business which provide jobs for our citizens. The Wisconsin Paper Council fears expanded regulations will impose substantial costs on Wisconsin businesses not faced by competitors around the world.
An official with manufacturing plants in northern Wisconsin and the U.P. observed that the State knows that, unlike sulfur dioxide, there is no control equipment to cut carbon emissions. "So, energy must be rationed. And, when energy is rationed to factories, we will move our factories to states or countries where energy is not rationed. It is that simple." He is serious as he once relocated a plant here from Mexico because it was cheaper to make stuff in Wisconsin, despite a significant labor cost differential, because of abundant and relatively affordable energy.
Therefore, while our climate may be changing again, as it has for millions of years, it is not our fault. The threat to our economy, lifestyle, and business climate comes from unelected, misguided bureaucrats. Hopefully the Wisconsin DNR and our Legislature can save the carbon based lifeforms.
