From Reason via Instapundit:
“Earth Day Turns 40”, By Ron Bailey:
“Obviously, Nelson’s (the founder of Earth Day) dour pollution predictions did not materialize. We don’t wear gas masks or live in domed cities. Since 1980, ambient concentrations of the six major regulated air pollutants have dropped by 54 percent, while U.S. population grew 34 percent, energy use increased 32 percent, automobile miles nearly doubled, and GDP rose by 126 percent. Specifically, ambient carbon monoxide is down 79 percent; ozone down 25 percent; nitrogen dioxide down 46 percent; sulfur dioxide down 56 percent, particulates down 68 percent. . . . ”
Other things have gotten better. Right-to-Carry laws have made Americans less likely to be raped or murdered in areas where people are allowed to be armed. Fox News, at least for the time being, provides a place for a few reasonable people to be heard on television. The ridiculous Ralph Nader/Joan Claybrook/Jimmy Carter nanny-speeds of 55mph are gone. There are fewer traffic deaths. The number of smokers has dropped. Food production, in areas not under leftist control, is up. Hunger is down. Life expectancy is rising. Antibiotics are keeping more people alive longer. Billions of people in China and India are better off than ever. The ozone hole has returned, but it hasn’t caused any penguins to go blind.
But, the poor souls twisted with worry and concern don’t have any brighter days in this life than they will in the next. No matter how many people are alive, there are too many. No matter how slowly cars go, they’re always going too fast. No matter what the icecaps are doing, they are threatening our lives and futures. No matter how few people die of cholera, plague, or typhus, it’s too many. Every single identifiable thing becomes a potential tsunami of disaster, especially, potential tsunamis.
One of the Gifts of The Holy Wireless Connector is Courage. The other side prefers to replace that gift with fear. And, as at least one saint has told us, “The devil’s goal is to get everyone to fear everything.” On Earth Day, we may consider how much less we have to fear than we used to.
