Donald Trump has finally done it. Now 2 major campaign promises can be checked off the list. He may have missed the 100 day deadline, however, it’s done. America is now officially out of the Paris Climate Accords.
Cue the Panic
America has developed a poisonous mindset. It goes something like this – if the government doesn’t do something, the world will end. I’ve got some news for the Washington-dependent masses: “saving the climate” is not the government’s job.
For a moment, let’s just assume that the climate is changing (which it is). Let’s just assume that man is the cause (which he may or may not be). Let’s just assume that if we don’t do something, the world’s coastlines will be underwater in a matter of years because of the melting of ice-caps (umm…yeah, maybe not).
Let’s just assume, for the sake of argument, all this stuff is true. Now what?
Government is Here to Save the Day!
The Paris Climate Change Agreement was 195 governments coming together, making a handshake deal that they would do their best to work toward trying to reduce the amount of carbon output around the world.
Obama said that, “…we needed a strong global agreement to accomplish this goal — an enduring agreement that reduces global carbon pollution and sets the world on a course to a low-carbon future. A few hours ago, we succeeded. We came together around the strong agreement the world needed. We met the moment.”
This agreement was hailed as the salvation of the world. However, we know that, assuming all their “science” was correct, the difference between all 195 nations perfectly following the agreement and no one following the agreement was 0.05 degrees Celsius.
When the world’s governments get involved, America ends up footing the bill (to the tune of billions of dollars), and the “climate disaster” is averted by lowering the temperature 0.05 degrees Celsius.
Limited Governments, Free Markets
Still assuming that all the previously mentioned assumptions are true (which they aren’t), but even if they were, it is obvious that the government stepping in to save the world is not going to work. So, if we cannot convince the climate change alarmists that the climate is not conspiring to melt us all (or freeze us all, depending on who you talk to), perhaps we can work toward convincing them that there is an alternate solution to their perceived problem.
This is probably a long shot, but sometimes a different perspective can get us out of a rut.
No one wants a polluted earth. The primal driver in humans is the desire for self-preservation. Even the desire for profit is trumped by the desire to survive.
A conservative believes that ultimately, individuals will make decisions that are in their own best interest. It may take some trial and error, but in the end the right decision will be made. The free market’s forces are more powerful than most people give it credit for.
The Distinction That Must Be Drawn
Being good stewards of the earth that God has given us is the right thing to do.
Being good stewards of the earth is not the right thing for the government to do.
This is about personal responsibility. Our country faces many problems that just won’t seem to go away (welfare, healthcare, health insurance, the poor, the hungry, etc.). The reason they won’t go away is because we are attempting to solve them via government.
Generally speaking, government creates problems, it does not solve them. Individuals solve problems.
So, whether you believe that the earth is warming, cooling, or doing something in between, and whether you believe that it’s the fault of humans, the sun, or Al Gore’s inability to stop talking, the answer to the problem is not more government.
The answer is individuals fulfilling their duty to be responsible stewards of God’s earth.
