Thursday, September 22, 2011

WSJ.com - How About a Green Tea Party?

 

WSJ.com - Opinion: How About a Green Tea Party?

 

It is time for a movement that brings environmental quality through economic prosperity. It's time for a Green Tea Party.

The GTP would not be for you if you think increasing Washington bureaucracy budgets will produce a cleaner environment. Most improvements came through cost-saving technologies in the private sector, not regulations.

The GTP's platform would be that only prosperity and incentives can drive environmental improvements. The first plank: Wealthier is healthier. From the U.S. to the former Soviet Union, data show that economic growth is necessary for environmental improvement, not its enemy. Such growth requires a strong private sector, not more federal spending and red tape. The second plank: Incentives matter. The GTP would use a carrot instead of the regulatory stick to improve environmental quality, and let energy markets and prices dictate energy sources. A replacement for fossil fuels will be found only when entrepreneurs can make a profit from cheaper, cleaner and more efficient energy.

Here are a few GTP environmental policies that make economic and common sense because they rely on market forces to discover what works:

 

 

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