Environmental Improvement

For John, BLUF:  I am not sure banning straws is going to break the camel's back.  We are seeing the leading edge of a moral panic.  We are making progress and we need to remain calm and carry on.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

When It Comes To The Environment, These Are The Good Ol' Days

From Investor's Business Daily, a 2 August 2018 Editorial.

Here are three key paragraphs, excerpted by Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds in his blog post:

From 1970 to 2017, the six major pollutants monitored by the EPA plunged by 73%.  By comparison, during that time the U.S.’ economy grew 262% and its population by 60%.

The decline in pollution is steep. Carbon monoxide, down 77%. Lead, 80%.  Nitrogen oxide, 56%.  Ozone, 22%.  Particle pollution, off an average 38%. Sulfur dioxide, 88%.

Not included in the report, but equally if not more significant, is the fact that CO2 — the main greenhouse gas — overall has plunged 29% since peaking in 2007.  That’s been the relentless focus of global warming activists and the left-leaning power elites from their policy perches at think tanks, NGOs, and global government organizations such as the U.N.

Then Professor Reynolds goes on to say:

Meanwhile, Europe, despite all the sanctimony, is making no such progress.

Is it possible that for the Europeans it isn't so much about the results as it is about the process?  I recall a quip, attributed to a German Professor out of Heidelberg:♠

That Works Very Well in Practice, But How Does It Work In Theory?

By the way, here is the US EPA Report.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Attributed here to a Boston based magazine back in 1911.