In a remarkably stupid and dangerous decision that is almost certain to be overturned on appeal, a non-serious, virtue-signaling judge has ruled in favor of a young person who claims her rights were denied because her state government — Montana — allows projects to move forward without considering the impact of fossil fuels on the environment.
It is unfortunately too common today that we have judges who are actually legislating from the bench and voiding public policy implemented by elected officials to keep the lights on and the buses running.
It is so easy to play the virtue-signaling game and look at this issue through tunnel vision. That means only looking at the immediate amount of carbon that is expelled as governments allow private citizens to produce energy for the state’s inhabitants. In the real world, you have to balance these figures by the need to maintain a basic standard of living for the people the government represents.
The bottom line is that poverty kills far more people in this nation, and in this world, than climate ever will. When you make the production of energy so expensive that poor and working-class people — and that includes the young plaintiff in this case — are unable to afford the necessities of life because energy costs have tripled, how is that helping the youth of America?
We all want to promote a cleaner environment since we all breathe the same air and need clean drinking water. However, green zealots who shut down common sense in order to promote their unrealistic goals are creating havoc for the next generation.
The decisions as to how we transition into a cleaner future has to be made by legislators who are directly accountable to the people and who propose policy platforms to the public at election time. It is not for judges to now become legislators to promote their own hidden agendas.