Fix It 'Til It's Broken

One of the general rules about liberals is that their policies generate the opposite of their intended effects. That's a redeemable quality, actually, since their goals are normally undesirable. They tried to make college more affordable and the costs skyrocketed. They tried making homeownership more accessible to minorities and drove a mortgage crises. The examples are endless. Here's another one.

One of their goals is to reduce or eliminate carbon dioxide emissions. I happen to believe that carbon dioxide emissions are good for the planet. Fortunately for me, the left disagree and, as such, are working in my favor. Environmentalists have been lobbying furiously for a transition to electric vehicles. Many of us have pointed out that the cars aren't nearly as eco-friendly as they believe them to be, but, fortunately, they don't listen to us. Germany has gone so far as to consider banning diesel cars in their push to convert drivers to electrics. Now a recent study shows that, in their own country, electrics create up to 28% more CO2 emissions than diesel cars. Those trendy Tesla drivers, if their own theories are correct, are driving the world even faster to climate apocalypse than us science deniers. Fortunately they are wrong, and their increased emissions are contributing to a greener globe, but not a warmer one.

Things don't always work out so well, though. The UK celebrated a new "coal-free record" this weekend by running 90 hours without any coal plants. They intend for this to be the new normal as they transition completely away from coal by 2025. They intend to rely on renewables, with gas for peaking power. Like the electric cars, their energy policy is likely to increase rather than decrease carbon emissions when all factors are considered, because such an approach requires nearly duplicating the country's power production infrastructure. It also puts them at the mercy of the European gas markets, dominated by Russia. Not only will their energy policy make electricity more expensive and less reliable for Brits, and increase dependence on foreign dictators, but likely will only serve to worsen the problem it set out to solve in the first place. That's really the new normal with modern western governments. Make the original problem worse, and introduce some new ones along the way.