Shawn Ritenour writes in The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania:
In anticipation of this week’s United Nations Climate Summit, tens of thousands of activists stormed Manhattan in what organizers dubbed “The Peoples Climate March.” Organized by environmentalist, labor, and self-styled social justice groups, marchers demanded “climate justice now,” even observing a minute of silence to recognize those most affected by climate change. They should have taken a moment to pray for the world’s poor, too. Because the policies they demand would devastate hundreds of millions of lives worldwide. That’s the conclusion of a new report published by the Cornwall Alliance, A Call to Truth, and co-signed by 150 evangelical leaders, pastors, economists, scientists, and others, including myself. We analyzed how environmental legislation and regulations—like the ones called for by President Obama at the U.N.—reduce the standard of living for hundreds of millions of the world’s poorest citizens. Mandatory reductions in carbon dioxide emissions are among the most common demands of climate activists. By cutting these emissions across the board, the argument goes, it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lower global temperatures. This supposedly will save the earth by healing her atmosphere and calming her seas. What this argument does not include, however, is the effect such draconian cuts will have on electricity prices. By effectively prohibiting the cheapest and most abundant sources of energy—i.e., fossil fuels—government-imposed cuts to carbon dioxide emissions necessarily cause electricity bills to skyrocket. Forcing millions of people who can’t even afford food for dinner to pay more for electricity is far from social “justice.”
