In Poznan, Poland, yesterday, several thousand people showed up dressed as various animals and clowns to protest UN-led talks aimed at getting 187 nations to speed up government control of everything under the sun. Apparently these people believe more in the sagacity of the UN thug-ocrats against whom they were protesting, than they do in their fellow citizens.
Amazingly they don't seem to understand that the actions for which they agitate, i.e. stronger and more intrusive government controls on everything from building and transportation to animal rights and dietary laws. Allow me to break it down for them: Solutions to problems and progress can only come from either inside government or outside government.
Outside of the government there is a wide array of opportunities and markets. I can walk down the aisle at my local supermarket and see the results of the free market. Green items and green technology is everywhere, from batteries to cleaning products to food containers to recyclable bags. Even as a non-environmentalist I am impressed with the variety and scope of the choices made available to me by the free market. I assume that many people are buying the higher-priced, environmentally conscious items because they are on the shelves, week after week, being restocked.
The point I am trying to make is this:
The free market is capable of providing many solutions. These can be as varied as new ingredients or new packaging. The government can only provide one solution-- more regulation. And what does regulation do? It limits and constrains ingenuity, creativity, and productivity.
Now back to our protesters. What troubles me is that their focus doesn't seem to be on giving us more, and environmentally friendly, consumer choices. In fact they seem to be about the opposite. Limiting people's choices to choices that they agree with. Most of them were griping about the UN "going slowly" in their efforts. Presumably by that they mean that the UN is not seizing productivity fast enough for their tastes. Someone should reassure her. I am sure the UN is doing all it can to use the environment as a wedge to separate us from our liberties.
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You're a moron. The UN is doing all it can to save the world from nitwits like you who just laugh at global warming. Burn in hell. Or here on Earth. Same thing.
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