Dear Friends: My son, the Young Prince, was busy working on his color wheel this weekend. You may remember working on one yourself: Red plus Blue equals Purple, etc.
Today’s lesson: Green = Red plus Black, as described below.
As a Californian, while looking over the science news today, this news post caught my eye:
California’s ‘Green Jobs’ Experiment Isn’t Going Well
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was all smiles in 2006 when he signed into law the toughest anti-global-warming regulations of any state. Mr. Schwarzenegger and his green supporters boasted that the regulations would steer California into a prosperous era of green jobs, renewable energy, and technological leadership. Instead, since 2007 — in anticipation of the new mandates — California has led the nation in job losses.
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The green lobby has lectured us for years that global warming is all about the sanctity of science. Those who question the “scientific consensus” on catastrophic atmospheric changes are belittled as “deniers.” Now, in assessing the costs, the greens readily cook the books and throw good science out the window. “To most of the most strident supporters of this legislation,” says Mr. Niello, “the economic costs don’t really matter anyway, because we are supposedly facing an environmental apocalypse.”
Mr. Schwarzenegger fits into that camp. He recently declared: “I recommend very strongly that we move forward . . . . You will always have people saying this will lose jobs.”
Meanwhile, the state is losing jobs, a lot of them. California’s unemployment rate hit 9.3% in December, up from 4.9% in December 2006. There are now 1.5 million Californians out of work. The state has the fourth-highest housing foreclosure rate in the nation, has lost more businesses than any state in recent years, and is facing a $40 billion deficit. With cap and trade firmly in place, the economic situation is only likely to get worse.
Other states are plundering the Golden State’s industries by convincing businesses to pick up stakes and move out before the cap-and-trade earthquake hits. Governors and Washington politicians who want to reduce their “carbon footprint,” but are worried about the more immediate crises of cascading unemployment, unbalanced budgets, and the housing-market collapse, would be wise not to follow California’s lead. Green policies have a tendency to push states into the red.
I fled Michigan in 1985, as I could plainly see that it was not economically sound to stay there — and California was prosperous and productive. Sadly, it seems those who embrace the junk science of global warming have strangled a sound, capitalist system. My husband, Horemeb, and I have discussed moving elsewhere. Should the California legislative and executive branches continue following their “feelings” instead of sound science and economic principles, we will follow the lead of other California achievers and devote our financial and intellectual capital to the benefit of one of the other 49 states. (Actually, 47: Michigan and Illinois are not under serious consideration. Alaska normally wouldn’t be, except I adore its Governor).
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