John Nichols

Those who adhere to the notion that it is incumbent on the current generation to "conserve" resources believe only they can divine the needs and wants of future generations. Divine is the proper word to use because the green movement is religious in its fever to promote sustainability.

The word sustainability means whatever the user wishes it to mean. Thus, it is a word without any meaning at all. It is exactly the sort of word needed to achieve Orwellian control of people; in order to coerce them to believe 2 + 2, really does equal 5.

To enforce compliance with the ideology, anyone who fails to adhere to sustainability doctrine is immediately labeled a denier, a skeptic, a "flat-earther" or worse. Public ridicule follows, with attempts to demonize and marginalize opposition, to what amounts to a Green God.

Companies are so frightened by the specter of protests; they now have "sustainability officers," who genuflect at the altar of the deity, without understanding they are worshipping, not promoting science.

The intermediate goal of sustainability proponents is a reduction in the use of energy, but reality will soon catch up with the notion most people want to consume less energy. Shockingly, most people want plentiful, reliable, affordable energy, and the jobs that accompany it. They certainly do not want the promise of subsidized "green jobs" that never materialize, or the destruction of unsubsidized jobs elsewhere in the economy due to the rising cost of reliable energy.

On April 10, at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on grid reliability, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski made the statement, "Eighty-nine percent of the coal electricity capacity that is due to go offline was utilized as backup to meet the demand this winter." The premature closure of these coal-fired power plants because of questionable EPA air quality regulations will cause electricity prices to "skyrocket," as predicted by candidate Barack Obama before he became president.

As a consequence, available supply will not meet demand. This will lead to brownouts, intermittent electricity supply and potentially catastrophic grid failure. These are the inevitable consequences of a deeply flawed energy policy and an EPA responsive to those who tout sustainability. The real question is how much will citizens needlessly suffer before they elect new leadership to chart a course leading to real energy independence?

At its core, the goal of sustainability proponents is not about less energy consumption; it is about reducing the number of people on planet Earth. This is due to their belief the resources of the Earth are scarce, and therefore access to them must be limited, and their use equalized. Limitations on the amount of carbon dioxide produced, the use of water, the amount of particulate matter in the atmosphere, which in the U.S. is less than nature intended, are just the first steps in the process toward total control of individuals.

If any society wants less people (a questionable goal on the surface), its populace needs access to affordable energy to create affluence. The greater the likelihood a child survives to adulthood and the more mechanized becomes agriculture, the fewer children born.

Japan, the U.S. and Western Europe are barely replacing their population. Except for immigration, the U.S. and Western Europe's populations are shrinking. The nation of Japan, with little immigration, is hosting parties where young adults can meet each other, in an effort to encourage marriage and childbirth, because the population is in decline.

Society does not need a word without meaning. It needs a robust economy in order to promote peace and prosperity. Sooner or later this reality is going to hit home, and the tyranny of the minority will come to an abrupt end. For those who are unemployed or underemployed, it cannot happen soon enough.

John Nichols, a Middletown resident, advocates for science-based solutions to meet complex energy needs.