The Dangers of Climate Paternalism - Turn off the volcano please...

[WhiskeyGirl]

The Dangers of Climate Paternalism

There are many clear examples of climate paternalism valuing “being green” over human life. Senators John Kerry, Patrick Leahy and Rep Barney Frank wanted the World Bank to turn down a loan for a coal-fired plant in South Africa, telling World Bank President Robert Zoellick, “We cannot ignore the reality that our planet is hurtling toward potentially catastrophic climate change.” South Africa’s Finance Minister points out the new plant is “necessary to sustain the growth rates [the country needs] to create jobs.” The Obama Administration ultimately abstained on the vote.

Hmmm...no jobs for AMERICANS.

“This is one hundred percent unnecessary death,” McElhinney argued during her speech. What would happen if 370 American children die from malaria in Virginia every day? she wondered. “I think we’d all be going around and all our clothes would be covered in dust, they would be air-bombing us in DDT. We’d work out the problems later because we wouldn’t allow our children to die. But obviously it doesn’t work like that for black children,” McElhinney said, referring to the racism necessarily implicit in the DDT ban.

The environmentalism of good intentions is not always intelligent environmentalism, and the truth is that when it comes to DDT regulation, America’s policies do affect the world. Perhaps the fortieth anniversary of Earth Day is a good day to reevaluate whether or not America’s current policy regarding DDT is worth it. For more on the political and scientific history behind DDT, be sure to check out this new ReasonTV video.

more here- http://blog.heritage.org/2010/04/22/the-dangers-of-climate-paternalism/