Posted on 01/23/2024 7:02:31 AM PST by MtnClimber
Many Americans are only now beginning to realize the devastating impacts that COVID lockdowns had on our society, as many businesses struggle still to recover and children try to catch up with missed learning opportunities. But what if the pandemic was just a trial run for more drastic restrictions and lockdowns related to climate change?
After decades of arguing that the world is at a climate tipping point, Democrats may try to enact restrictions to stop perceived global warming at an order of magnitude larger than the COVID-19 measures imposed during the height of the pandemic. And considering the pandemic’s ability to bring out authoritarian streaks in our leaders, this should be worrying for most Americans. Some claim that climate change is the “greatest health crisis of our time,” and Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates agrees it could be worse than the pandemic.
Some bureaucrats are already laying the foundation for climate-related restrictions. For example, states such as New York and California have moved to ban the use of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, lawnmowers, and stoves.
A combination of efforts could build, perhaps coercing mass support for draconian regulations and soft environmental lockdowns over the next decade. Do you really need a gasoline lawn mower, anyway? For many young people and city dwellers who don’t drive regularly, cut grass, or individually heat their homes, such actions to curb energy use may seem like no-brainers. Whether it’s a liberal U.S. president or some party apparatchik abroad, the restrictions will be packaged in some panacea like a scaled-down Green New Deal. There likely would be sweeteners — for example, perhaps your student loan could be eligible for dismissal if you voluntarily give up going to the office or owning a car.
What, exactly, might environmental restrictions mean for ordinary Americans? Short flights could be banned, as France has done to “fight climate change,” or a carbon tax could be levied on travel. Some measures may be imposed through involuntary changes, such as a four-day school week. Such a change likely would be difficult for families working traditional schedules, but this hurdle will be framed as being for “the greater good” of the climate. A four-day mandatory workweek could do the same for families whose kids attend schools with traditional schedules.
Local governments and utilities might limit access to power. A Colorado utility recently came under fire for changing its customers’ thermostats without their knowledge, and the same happened in Texas during extreme heat. Restrictions on gasoline cars could lead to a de facto rationing regime similar to that during the 1973 oil embargo. If you’re old enough, you’ll have bad memories of being able to purchase fuel only on certain days.
But a climate lockdown will not be an all-hands-on-deck event, such as with the start of the pandemic. Those on the political left and in the administrative state know that hitting Americans with one regulation or tax or ban at a time may not spark a sharp reaction. Rather than mandating that you can’t leave your house, for example, you may slowly notice over several years that your work and personal habits have been restricted one step at a time.
Many of the changes produced by the COVID lockdowns have made Americans more accustomed to severe measures. Earlier this month, a New York City school switched from in-person classes to remote learning in order to house migrants during severe weather. Yet there are many reasons why such a restriction is a bad idea: Learning outcomes during the pandemic were disastrous, especially for younger students. Test scores, basic fundamentals, socialization, and behavioral issues all became worse because teachers unions and Democratic policymakers insisted that schools had to close during COVID — in some cases lasting into 2022.
When a precedent is set, the genie is out of the bottle. Schools could institute remote learning instead of a snow day or for a “climate day.” Once there is a model for institutions to scrap tradition for electronic facsimiles, the building blocks of a new lockdown are in place...
Generation Eloy...
Which is fine. National Guard is a part time thing. We know where their families live.
How will you get to their homes without gasoline for your car?
For every measure there is a countermeasure. :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.