We don’t need the government to tell us to go green
Obama’s plan for more laws increasing oversight on pollution and other environmental issues is something that would not only be destructive to the American economy, but also not in the least useful in dealing with the real problem of pollution (see this article from the Campaign for Liberty). So what is the answer? The free market! Now more than ever, the free market is calling for green energy, and we have another example of that right here at Wake Forest University. Consider this article from the Winston-Salem Journal, of which the following is a segment:
…researchers at Wake Forest University are convinced that they have a formula for a catalyst that could lower the cost of producing biodiesel enough so that it could provide 5 percent of the nation’s needs.
“If we, as a nation, can do that, that’s enough biodiesel to replace the need for oil from a country such as Iraq,” said Abdessadek Lachgar, a chemistry professor at the university and one of two officials supervising the project along with Marcus Wright, a lab manager and investigator in the biodiesel work.
Biodiesel is a renewable, clean-burning fuel that also reduces tailpipe emissions. It depends primarily on feedstock crops.
One goal of the Biofuels Center of North Carolina is developing a statewide industry that would produce at least 10 percent of the liquid fuels sold in the state by 2017. According to the center’s Web site, 15 companies in North Carolina are working with biofuel, including one in the Triad — Gortman Biofuel LLC of Winston-Salem, which produces a 100 percent version of biodiesel.
Now granted, these professors may be using government grant money, I’m not sure whether they are or not. But that’s the big point here. The point is the number of private businesses that are investing in biodiesel! This investment by private business creates a market demand for research by people like these professors. The fact is that there is a market demand for green energy and green products. We don’t need the government coming in and forcing it down our throats! Of course, I am of the opinion that those in power don’t actually care about this market demand, all they really want is tighter control of the American economy, and they will use environmental reasons to claim the “moral high ground” to do so. If you are an environmentalist and you think that people like Obama are looking out for what you care about by planning tighter environmental regulations, think again. Your goal is less pollution and a cleaner environment, is it not? Then take a close look at which of these two systems actually promoted this. Obama’s plan would only send polluters elsewhere or create new anti-environmental lobbies, not only outsourcing more American jobs but also not in the least affecting the true problem of pollution. The only path to a truly better environment for everyone is market demand for such services, which can be promoted through more profitable environmental endeavors like biodiesel and education about environmental issues.