Notwithstanding the question of the legitimacy of global warming to drive public policy which translates into bigger government, higher prices, wealth redistribution and the loss of personal freedoms, one may observe that political corruption often drives government intervention into areas best left to nature.

Ask yourself …

Why should the world’s grossest polluter, China,  be allowed to “capitalize” on a global warming scheme that results in rewarding the source of significant “real” pollution?

Why should gross polluters in the United State and elsewhere be allowed to continue their polluting activities by purchasing “indulgences” which do absolutely nothing to cure “real” pollution?

Where are the United Nations’ sanctions on those who deliberately game the system for profit?

And why do scientists and others allow carbon dioxide, a necessary component of life, to be demonized based on little more than a speculative hypothesis not backed by any provable facts?

As reported in the New York Times …

Greenhouse gases were rated based on their power to warm the atmosphere. The more dangerous the gas, the more that manufacturers in developing nations would be compensated as they reduced their emissions.

But where the United Nations envisioned environmental reform, some manufacturers of gases used in air-conditioning and refrigeration saw a lucrative business opportunity.

They quickly figured out that they could earn one carbon credit by eliminating one ton of carbon dioxide, but could earn more than 11,000 credits by simply destroying a ton of an obscure waste gas normally released in the manufacturing of a widely used coolant gas. That is because that byproduct has a huge global warming effect. The credits could be sold on international markets, earning tens of millions of dollars a year.

That incentive has driven plants in the developing world not only to increase production of the coolant gas but also to keep it high — a huge problem because the coolant itself contributes to global warming and depletes the ozone layer. That coolant gas is being phased out under a global treaty, but the effort has been a struggle.

So since 2005 the 19 plants receiving the waste gas payments have profited handsomely from an unlikely business: churning out more harmful coolant gas so they can be paid to destroy its waste byproduct. The high output keeps the prices of the coolant gas irresistibly low, discouraging air-conditioning companies from switching to less-damaging alternative gases. That means, critics say, that United Nations subsidies intended to improve the environment are instead creating their own damage.

China and India, where most of the 19 factories are, have been resisting mightily. The manufacturers have grown accustomed to an income stream that in some years accounted for half their profits. The windfall has enhanced their power and influence. As a result, many environmental experts fear that if manufacturers are not paid to destroy the waste gas, they will simply resume releasing it into the atmosphere. <Source>

The cycle of corruption …

A portion of the large profits are reinvested into lobbying activities which result in campaign funds to support corrupt politicians who now have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo or even enlarging the ability of the special interests to plunder the system. All costs being passed along to consumers in the form of higher energy prices and higher prices for all goods and services which depend on that costly energy.

Take the word of Barack Obama …

“You know, when I was asked earlier about the issue of coal, uh, you know — Under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket. Even regardless of what I say about whether coal is good or bad. Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”

Bottom line …

Never before has the United States faced a crisis where so many corrupt self-serving politicians have reigned unchecked by the mainstream media or the checks and balances built into the Constitution. Never before have we had a President – reputedly a constitutional scholar – openly defy the constitution; full well-knowing that legal remedies in the courts will take years – years after the damage to our way of life have been done. Years when those who should be tried as criminals will have been long gone and beyond the public’s will to prosecute.

Never before have both political parties been so corrupt. Continually promoting “energy independence” while secretly doing everything in their power to keep prices high and the United States dependent on foreign energy sources.

If pollution of the land, air, and water is so harmful to humans, how can these corrupt charlatans allow gross polluters to continue their polluting ways by purchasing politically-controlled indulgences that enrich the special interests?

Pure corruption of the political system is the only answer.

So in 2012 and 2016 we need throw these corrupt politicians out of office. Starting with Barack Obama and his fellow communist travelers in 2012.

-- steve