| In an act of supreme economic (and environmental) stupidity the City Council in the nation’s capital has passed several laws that will outlaw the use of fossil fuels for heating, cooking, and city-owned vehicles. E&E News reports that D.C.’s law mimics a similar law recently passed in New York City and about a dozen left-leaning western cities.
Mary Cheh, the sponsor of both bills, called the new law a “blueprint” for dealing with climate change – “the single most important environmental issue of our time.” Reality check: this law is a “blueprint” all right: for higher utility bills and a WORSE environment. Over the past six years, the use of clean-burning natural gas by power companies is a major factor behind America’s REDUCTION in carbon emissions and other pollution. So the politicians in a city with high murder rates, one of the highest overall crime rates (one in 17 residents is a victim of a violent or property crime, according to neighborhoodscout.com), abysmal public schools, and a burgeoning homelessness problem thinks they are going to change the temperature of the planet. Abolishing fossil fuels puts cities and towns at high risk of periodic brownouts and blackouts (think California), but to put a smiley face on this initiative, we can’t think of any city in America where a loss of electric power could do less damage than Washington. |
