God of climate change might reside in California

One of the joys of federalism is having 50 quasi-independent states all being "experiments in democracy." As each legislates and regulates for its own pieces of geography, we can see what works and what doesn’t work. Theoretically, what works will spread to other states, and the nation, to emulate the good stuff and avoid the bad. That’s the theory, anyway.

The reality is something else, and California especially shows the problem. The key is in the definition of "what works." A state dominated entirely by the woke left, which pretty much defines California, is going to have a different take on what "working" means. If California were like, say, Wyoming, the rest of us who are not enthralled with wokeness could largely ignore it. But California, containing as it does nearly 10% of the population of the United States, is much too large to ignore. Moreover, given the interconnectedness of all states, notwithstanding federalism, what California does can impact you directly, sooner or later.

The latest moves by California in service to the pagan gods of environmentalism and the chief god of climate change is to do what it can to ban the use of hydrocarbons. The priests of this god unceasingly tell us that consumption of hydrocarbons will warm the planet until we all die, sometime around 2050 in the latest revelations. All prior prophecies of disaster have been wrong, but never mind. Like some of those who follow the Christian God and predict the end of the world decade after decade, we should perhaps be a bit humble about presuming to know the mind of gods, pagan or otherwise.

No matter. Facts and faith often have a tenuous relationship to one another. Besides which, predictions of imminent doom often sell a lot of books.

So what is the latest move by California to serve the god of climate change? (I keep hoping the worshippers of climate change would give the god a name as the ancients did. Jupiter? Apollo? Mercury? This would simplify things. Feel free to submit suggestions.) California now plans to ban the sale of non-electric cars by 2035. So what, you say, I don’t live in California. However, California is the largest single market for cars, and auto manufacturers will have to comply or cease selling cars there. Given that push, and federal subsidies and regulations all pushing in the same direction, it is not hard to see GM, Ford and all the rest moving to an all-electric fleet. They are already making noises in that direction.

Reality will, of course, rear its ugly head. Where is all the electricity going to come from to charge all those millions of cars? Fairy dust? Wind and solar are an expensive and utterly unrealistic and undependable bad joke. Wherever in the world these sources are used people pay up for ever higher utility bills, and suffer brownouts and blackouts to boot. Half the day is dark, after all. Nukes would work, but the god of the Environment hates nukes even more than hydrocarbons. Once the sales ban goes into effect, how long before all gas-powered vehicles, including everything from lawnmowers to tractors, are banned? Five years? Ten years? It certainly won't be long. If you move to California, presumably after 2035 you cannot bring in your non-electric vehicle.

But it gets worse. California has decided — who knows how — that 43% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings — including your house. That’s more than cars. So gas hookups in new construction are being banned even as you read this. Like to cook on a gas stove? Or heat with gas? Too bad. More electricity required to come from somewhere.

A recent article applauding California’s efforts to assuage the god of Climate stated as follows: "It has been noted that there are no easy environmental fixes, and tackling future issues will require greater sacrifices going forward." What might those be?

Pagan gods have always demanded sacrifices. The god of Climate is no different.

Charles Milliken is a professor emeritus after 22 years of teaching economics and related subjects at Siena Heights University. He can be reached at milliken.charles@gmail.com.