Gang Green [Enviro-Nazism Alert]

Wall Street Journal ^ | August 15, 2008 | Stephen Moore

[Zakeet]

Earlier this month, while visiting a friend in San Francisco, I almost spilled my latte in my lap when I read this on the front page of the Chronicle: "S.F. Mayor Proposes Fines for Unsorted Trash."

The story began: "Garbage collectors would inspect San Francisco residents' trash to make sure pizza crusts aren't mixed in with chip bags or wine bottles under a proposal by Mayor Gavin Newsom." Isn't that what homeless people do -- rooting around in other people's garbage? If Bay Area residents are caught failing to separate the plastic bottles from the newspapers, according to the newspaper story, they could face fines of up to $1,000.

"We don't want to fine people," the mayor is quoted saying reassuringly. "We want to change behavior." Translation: Do exactly as we say and no one gets hurt. And San Francisco considers itself one of the most progressive cities in America!

When I was a kid, the environmentalists promoted their clean skies and antilittering agenda mostly through moral suasion -- with pictures of an Indian under a smoggy sky with a tear rolling down his cheek or the owl who chanted on TV: "Give a hoot, don't pollute." Such messages made you feel guilty about callously throwing a candy bar wrapper on the ground or feeling indifferent toward car fumes. Back then I was a devoted recycler, but not for sentimental reasons. It was the financial incentive: You got up to a nickel for every bottle you brought back to the grocery store. So I would scavenge the landscape to find unredeemed bottles to buy baseball cards and candy.

But now the environmental movement has morphed into the most authoritarian philosophy in America.

[Zakeet]

California is considering a plan to police the temperature settings on residents' thermostats. The feds are checking on the flush capacity of our toilets and the kinds of light bulbs we use. A new game called Climate Crime Cards urges kids to spy on and keep an online record of their family's environmental faux pas -- noting when their parents fail to turn off the TV, plug in too many appliances or use the clothes dryer on a sunny day. Sen. John Warner, a Republican from Virginia, wants to bring back the reviled 55-mile-per-hour federal speed limit law so that America can reduce gasoline consumption. Barack Obama believes that properly inflating the tires on our cars is the solution to our energy woes. Is the government going to start giving tickets for failure to inflate?

[Rummyfan]

We don't want to fine people," the mayor is quoted saying reassuringly. "We want to change behavior." Translation: Do exactly as we say and no one gets hurt. And San Francisco considers itself one of the most progressive cities in America!

Earlier this week there was a posting about blacks leaving San Francisco. But who in their right mind, regardless of race, wants to live in that city?

But now the environmental movement has morphed into the most authoritarian philosophy in America.

Enviro-Nazis! Green is the new totalitarianism!

[BOBTHENAILER]

They stole yout line. Sue the Bastids.

[mmichaels1970]

A new game called Climate Crime Cards urges kids to spy on and keep an online record of their family's environmental faux pas

I just HAD to google that one. I'm enjoying reading my "violations" right now. I'm going to go over the "crime cards" (1.75 mb) with my wife and kids at dinner tonight to have a good laugh. Here's my favorite:

Putting hot food in a fridge or freezer is in fact a crime...Climate Cops know that waiting until it’s cool is the right time.

Climate Crime: Have you seen anyone commit this crime? If it’s hot, more energy will have to be used to cool the food down.

I'm thinking about loading my kids up with these cards and letting them go crazy at my "lib" mom's house next visit.

[Malsua]

with pictures of an Indian under a smoggy sky with a tear rolling down his cheek

And he wasn't even an Indian. He was Sicilian if I recall.

[SierraWasp]

Hey! Immitation is the most sincere form of flattery!!!

GANG-GREEN!!!