[Stoat]

A society spokesman said it was 'fantasy' to try to force consumers to buy low-emission cars they didn't want. 'We have a long list of low-emission cars which have bombed,' he said.

'To comply with a 120g per km target, three quarters of all new cars in Britain would have to be hybrid. The effect could be to drive sports car and 4x4 makers out of business within a decade, through fines and "unobtainable" improvements in technology.'

His public statement misses the point, however, in that the true goal of the 'green' groups is not to improve the environment but to destroy Capitalism, by any means necessary.

A magnificent ray of sunshine in all of this idiocy, however, can be seen in the comments to this article at the Daily Mail site (link up near top of page).  As of the time of this posting, the VAST majority of the comments are highly critical of 'global warming' alarmism, EU encroachment into peoples' lives, and are soberly questioning the benefits these efforts.  Many are of the rational, thoughtful quality that one might expect to find here at Free Republic, and if these comments represent a good cross-section of opinion in Great Britain then they give me great hope.

[Perdogg]

$1.9611/pound X 3,300 pounds = $6,471.63 X 19.6pc VAT = $7,740.07 for EU's green drive.

[RightWhale]

Stopgap measures and ultimately ineffective. The sun will continue to warm long after 'Greenies' have evolved back into slimy puddles.

[Publius6961]

The European Automobile Manufacturers' Association said the 130g figure was still too high and would 'lead toward loss of jobs and manufacturing in Europe'.

Was this statement quoted erroneously? Should the sentence read "...too low?"

[Publius6961]

EU environmental chiefs originally demanded that the average new car must be engineered to emit no more than 120g of carbon dioxide per kilometre.

Friends of the Earth transport campaigner Tony Bosworth said last night: 'Manufacturers are failing to take climate change seriously. The commission is going to water down its long agreed target, which is deeply disappointing.'

Two things jump out at me every time I read one of these discussions.
Are unelected activists now running the economy and health of these countries?
Are "Environmental Chiefs" elected?
What legal and actual authority does a 'campaigner' for Friends of the Earth have?

What do the citizens and voters of these countries actually think?
Why don't they just vote out legislators who run the jobs they were elected for by the dictates of unelected, and often uninformed activists?

[Gay State Conservative]

After reading this,the smart investment move is to buy the stock of shoe manufacturers.

[YOUGOTIT]

What is really driving up the bad air is Greens and their rich allies who use private planes, private limos, private boats, private movies, newspapers, TVs, Broadway shows, and bodyguards to increase the carbon footprint by miles through their use of private stuff while the rest of us use public planes etc.

[EEDUDE]

What I find amazing about all of the talk about reducing CO2 emissions from cars is that so many people lack basic knowledge about the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels.

CO2 is not a byproduct or a "pollutant". It is a primary and irreducible product of the combustion of ANY hydrocarbon fuel.

You simply cannot lower the CO2 output and get the same energy output. The amount of energy released and CO2 produced are inextricably linked.

Any chemists or performance engineers out there that want to weigh in and tell me what I am missing?

[GoldCountryRedneck]

VAST majority of the comments are highly critical of 'global warming' alarmism, EU encroachment into peoples' lives, and are soberly questioning the benefits these efforts.

Regrettably, VAST criticism means nothing in a world where vocal minority and special interest groups have the political clout to implement social agendas.

Further, even when the results of ill-conceived 'feel good' programs result in un-intended consequences which undermine the fabric of society, the facts of failure mean nothing. Witness the rise in crime when the UK outlawed firearms.

Liberal activists are willing to settle for incrementally small victorys. In so doing they are insidiously successful. "Second hand smoke" has also been found to be junk science, yet Belmont, CA, is trying to outlaw smoking in ones' own apartment. Belmont may not get a full ban this year - but maybe next year.

Auto standards, likewise, will creep farther. Motorcycles will soon be required to pass tested emission standards and even garden equipment is coming under scruitany. Two-stroke engines are virtually banned on Lake Tahoe.

Too many people, as well, want to "Euro-ize" the United States as part of the Globalization movement. CO2 standards is but one step that, if successful, will be pointed out making us (the U.S.) the world 'bad guy' once again.

[The Great RJ]

And while the peons take the public transit or walk, the politicos, entertainment stars and Green leaders will still be riding in limos and private jets.

[yankeedame]

His public statement misses the point, however, in that the true goal of the 'green' groups is not to improve the environment but to destroy Capitalism, by any means necessary....

...and limit the mobility, and options thereof, of "the People". All for our own good, of course.

[Shots]

How about we put a price tag of £3,300 on each greenie that walks the earth?