The Political Inquirer

If you would like a textbook example of what I believe is wrong with the American environmentalist worldview, this article pretty much sums it up:

The latest “eco- scandal” flight took place on February 9 after American was forced to cancel one of its four daily services from Chicago to London.

While it was able to find places for nearly all the passengers on the fully-booked flight, five still had to be accommodated. Those who did fly were upgraded to the business class cabin.

But while they enjoyed lavish hospitality, the airline was accused of an “obscene waste of fuel” by Friends of the Earth.

Richard Dyer, Friends of the Earth’s transport campaigner said: “Flying virtually empty planes is an obscene waste of fuel. Through no fault of their own , each passenger’s carbon footprint for this flight is about 45 times what it would have been if the plane had been full…

Essentially, these groups are saying it would have been preferable had the passengers been stranded rather than be on the plane. Forget the details–that’s what it boils down to.

The mentality is ridiculous. No one should have to miss a flight because of carbon emissions. It’s also scary, because one has to wonder if the private plan industry will face new regulations because of things like this. A mandatory passenger quota? Mandatory distance cap?

People are not servants of the earth. Simple concept: the earth exists to benefit humanity, not vice-versa.