The Republicans in the House just passed what is supposed to be a boring spending bill entitled “Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act”. Except that they riddled it with gifts to special interests and abject stupidity:
- They slashed funding for renewable energy programs, while boosting funding for coal and other fossil fuels. Yes, really. As if we aren’t already handing out enough gifts to fossil fuel companies and countries.
- Prohibits the DOE from enforcing energy efficiency standards for light bulbs. This is totally hypocritical, since these standards were signed into law by George W Bush.
- Likewise, severely cuts funding for a program that provides incentives for replacing old, low-efficiency toilets with higher efficiency ones.
- Forbids all spending to study climate change. Not only can we not do anything about it, government scientists can’t study it or talk about it.
Why do they do things like this? Is it about spending and deficits? (I don’t think so because, if so, they would cut all funding for fossil fuels.) Is it just delivering a big “screw you” to Obama and the Democrats? Is it just because they just have to say no to anything that might help solve our energy problems? Or do they believe that destroying the environment will hasten the second coming of Christ?
What is it with these guys? And why do we keep electing idiots like this?
3 Comments
I would say there are three specific reasons:
1) Kickbacks, legally disguised or otherwise.
2) Obama wants it, thus it must be opposed at all costs.
3) Who cares about the condition of the earth? As soon as Jesus comes back, we’re out of here (or maybe before he comes back, depending on which version of the Rapture is correct).
There are no theological answers to the first two; the theological response within Christianity to #3 is to read the Lord’s Prayer and Revelation 21-22 carefully so as to understand that heaven is coming TO earth and we are supposed to help it get here…
Here’s one possible explanation based on some conversations with a relative of my wife’s (yes, he’s a fundamentalist Christian…how’d you guess?):
God, all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful, will never allow mankind to destroy itself either directly (e.g., through nuclear war) or indirectly (through environmental damage). If things ever get too bad, there will be divine intervention as we have never seen it before. It won’t necessarily be the Second Coming, but it could be. Whatever form it takes is irrelevant. The key is that God WILL intercede. All of our efforts are vain, as God is in control of everything. To him, this is just such an article of faith that it is taken as fact without question.
So all those studies that show the climate is changing? Sure, they might be true, but it doesn’t matter. If we have too much carbon, God will introduce a new species that feeds on carbon. If sea levels rise, God will provide plenty of warning to allow coastal regions to evacuate and start anew. After all, we’ve had environmental “crises” before that turned into nothing. Remember acid rain? The hole in the ozone layer? Bird flu? Mad cow disease? In all those cases, scientists decried the horrors that could come…but they never happened. (Of course, this stance ignores the significant role that policy and human action played in overcoming those problems!)
When you consider that view point, many of their policy actions make sense. There is no need to do anything that will have ANY (even negligible) effect on the economy, because you’re just inflicting harm (causing coal miners in WV to lose their job) in order to solve a problem that will fix itself with God’s help. Low flush toilets and new light bulbs…you’re just making me pay more money for things that don’t work as well. Besides those new technologies require rare earth metals, and mining those is even more catastrophic than climate change.
In the end, we on the scientific side cannot win this argument. It is not about facts. It is about the fundamental faith in God’s goodness. Human action is unnecessary and will have unanticipated side effects.
The questions are, will this stinker pass the Senate as well? And, will the president sign it into law?
Not over ’til the fat lady sings.