In addition, we cannot cannot destroy the Earth. It’s highly unlikely that humans could even end life on Earth, even if we gave it our best shot (unless Darth Vader loans us a Death Star). Total nuclear holocaust (the simultaneous use of all nuclear weapons on Earth) would lead to the death of most, and perhaps all of humanity, but the Earth would still be around. In perhaps a few decades, and at most a few hundred years, Earth would be teeming with life again. Sure, most of us complex vertebrates would say adios, but give the planet a bit of geologic time, and something equally interesting would probably replace us.Why do I bring this up? With the reemergence of global warming as a major issue in the last few years, alarmists are again making grandiose claims that we’re killing the planet, or that we’re going to destroy life on Earth. Hyperbole may be a way of getting attention (like the title of this post!), but it also tends to discredit an argument. When environmentalists scream that we’re killing the Earth and need to change our ways, what do people do? They tune out.
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Tag: pollution tax
Tax Pollution Bumper Sticker
This is a bumper sticker my wife made – I thought it was pretty cool. Here’s a link to CafePress to get it. Talk amongst yourselves.
Tax Pollution, Not Work
How could it possibly be a bad idea? Environmental pollution is the largest single economic externality faced by modern market economies like the United States. Households and companies alike do not suffer direct costs for their pollution, and therefore have no incentive to curtail it. Meanwhile we all suffer its negative effects, which include increased rates of asthma and respiratory illness, and also include rising temperatures worldwide.
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