Ten years ago, I wrote a column on the things that we would lose in the future.
Yesterday, I discussed a host of those things, but one thing on my list from a decade ago was campfires. I wrote that somewhat tongue in cheek—but that wry prediction is now close at hand.
Wednesday, the Biden Administration and one of its chief Climate Nazis, EPA Director Michael Regan, put out a rule that will outlaw campfires!
Not right away, but the die has been cast, and the burning of wood will be systematically outlawed in the years to come. Burning wood creates smoke, and smoke should be illegal because it creates soot, and soot is dirty.
If you think I’m joking, I’m not.
Sadly, the new rule on particulate matter will also have devastating effects on manufacturing and energy production in America and could lead to hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs—but that’s not important to the Climate Change zombies.
They think we must end everything, including people breathing—or else we will die!
Yeah, let that sink in for a minute!
So, the rule is this: the EPA is lowering the amount of fine particulate matter that can be allowed into the air, and the new devastating rule reduces the amount from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to nine. This may all sound very scientific, but it’s not. Studies in recent years found that such a reduction would have no real effect on air quality or the quality of life for those of us still hanging out up here on the earth’s surface.
By comparison, China and India both have a standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter—which is three times higher than what is allowed here. Soon, it will be four times higher than what we are allowed to have here.
The EPA says this will create a cleaner America that will “thrive” because this rule will make manufacturing cleaner and make workers safer. The EPA claims it will prevent over 4,000 premature deaths but offered zero proof to back that up. Four thousand people in a nation of 350 million is not exactly a crisis. By comparison, this year, almost 50,000 people will die from accidental falls. If the EPA would just outlaw gravity, we could dramatically reduce this horrible phenomenon. Ladders alone account for almost 150,000 ER visits a year. I think we should impose ladder control measures and only allow licensed operators to use them.
I could also point out that if the EPA were serious about lowering deaths from polluted air, they could take the bold step of outlawing cigarettes, which are still responsible for 500,000 deaths in this country every year.
But let’s be honest about this: they will never outlaw cigarettes or tobacco. There is simply too much money in it. Taxes make the socialist world go around. So, smoke ’em if you got ’em—it’s the American way!
This new overreaching EPA rule is a solution desperately in search of a problem. The air in America is cleaner today than at any time in your lifetime or mine—we are the cleanest, greenest nation on earth—but they don’t really care about that.
Remember, this is not really about making the world a better place—but a better place to control you and keep an eye on you as well!
The National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute warned the EPA in September that such a rule would be a wrecking ball for hundreds of thousands of jobs.
A study by Oxford economists last year suggested that in addition to putting close to a million American jobs at risk, it will also mean up to $200 Billion in lost economic activity.
Brilliant!
Oh, and try this on for size—The US Chamber of Commerce says if the EPA forces this rule onto the United States, 569 counties would be out of compliance immediately.
I mean, what are these people thinking?
And here is the real zinger: The US Chamber added this juicy morsel to the mix; “Compliance with the new standard will be very difficult.”
Why? Well, because 84% of this evil particulate matter comes from non-industrial sources—the two biggest contributors are wildfires and road dust.
That’s right—wildfires and road dust—and this is where we begin to see your right to a campfire flickering out.
How could you live with yourself with all that gooey marshmallow and chocolate smeared on your face with graham cracker crumbs scattered on your shirt with a glazed look in your eye?
I can hear the Green Police now, “Sir, please step away from the S’mores. You are in violation of Ordinance 2724-19-84, and this is serious. Sir, please pick up your cricket paste sandwich and come with me!”
This is just the latest on a list of short-sighted regulations that are destroying this country and our ability to do anything.
If wildfires are illegal, then burning wood in your fireplace is illegal. If you have one of those wonderful outdoor wood burners that heat your house—those will be out, too. A wood stove of any kind will be illegal very soon.
It makes me wonder if they are measuring everything we do—and, of course, the answer is yes.
So, as you think about that gooey s’more stuck in your teeth and your shirt stinking of the campfire smoke that follows you no matter which way you go—I want you to think about how they are measuring you as they track your every move on your devices.
It’s all about your carbon footprint, of course and it seems pretty clear that if something is fun, it’s a target.
So I got to thinking: what should we be measuring?
How big is the carbon footprint of a kid’s birthday party? The cake alone has animal products and other stuff from evil farms and farmers. Worse, it uses some sort of petroleum products for candles that produce particulate-infused smoke!
What about a baseball game? What kind of carbon footprint does that create? Football should be banned anyway because it showcases toxic masculinity—plus those tailgate parties where they celebrate roasting animal flesh on open flames while gulping down alcohol from sinful red solo cups.
Oh, the humanity! But ignore that—the globalists and the environmental justice warriors don’t actually believe in what they are saying. How could they? They are furiously smashing out dictums, edicts, and memes to the masses on TikTok and Instagram like the raging keyboard warriors they are.
You know, slamming the evils of capitalism, America, big oil, and big pharma—all on their Mac Book Pro while gulping down Xanax because they are just too stressed out to deal.
They are too stressed out to deal with facts like every modern electronic device they hold so dear is made from petroleum products and plastic created by the biggest free enterprise companies in the world.
They claim to be social justice warriors who embrace socialism, but they will be the first to wilt if that kind of tyranny ever does come to pass. They are simply not capable of dealing with anything adverse—they are going to be in real trouble when that echo chamber stops echoing.
But again, I digress.
The next big thing to happen is a broad-based ruling by the United States Supreme Court that will reel in all of these power-hungry agencies running wild over our rights.
Chevron Deference must be tossed, or we are done as a country. The high court has shown it is willing to put an end to this nonsense and has done so in a couple of cases, but the whole idea that agencies can act as if they are Congress must end.
Regulation without representation is ruining this country. When agencies have the power to impose rules that are actually laws and our elected representatives have no input whatsoever—that is wrong.
The EPA, IRS, FCC, SEC, and so on must be stopped, and if we can do that, we can also stop much of the globalist agenda in its tracks.
The case to watch involves the National Marines Fisheries Service and fishermen on the East Coast being required to pay as much as $800 a day for a federal agent to stand on their boats while they are working and determine if they are following the laws pertaining to commercial fishing.
The real problem with Chevron Deference is that every time there is a new administration, there is a massive shock to the system because new rules are implemented on such things as securities law, communications law, and the big favorite right now, environmental law.
I am optimistic, based on the tenor of the oral arguments last month, that the high court is finally ready to set aside this 1984 travesty and make Congress do its job again.
If not, you’d better get the wood piled up for one last campfire and s’more before you get smacked in the face by a cold dead fish—and a terrible decision!