The Environmental Benefits of Capitalism

Walter Russell Mead writes:

Much to the surprise (and, one suspects, the chagrin) of the deranged doomsaying wing of the environmental movement, new forecasts of US CO2 emission are out and they point to an even steeper drop than the last set of predictions.

No cap and trade, no huge new taxes on oil, no draconian driver restrictions, no air conditioning bans, no rationing — and the US is on track to cut its CO2 emissions 17 percent below the 2005 levels by 2020 — and to keep cutting our emissions levels beyond that.

Interesting, and it points toward a reasonable solution to the problems associated with global economic growth.

[The United States of America is living proof that there are more ways to address environmental concerns than the green movement as a whole is willing to admit.

And if the United States can achieve this while blowing off the panicky greens and their tiresome Malthusian agendas, so can China and India. That is a very good thing, because those countries have zero repeat zero interest in  adopting any green measures that slow their growth.

The truth is that if CO2 emissions are going to come down, it’s going to happen the American way rather than the Greenpeace way.

Read it here.