The fact that this kind of thing doesn’t seem to prompt much in the way of outrage from the very same people who are scandalized by increased regulation of light bulbs tells you a lot about American politics. For one thing, there are several giant industries willing and eager to put up lots of money to fund people to complain about the work of climate change activists, so these stories get blown up. But it’s also just a reminder that, in practice, things like support for free markets, belief in freedom, hostility to government regulation, support for small government, etc. play no actual role in American politics. It’s interesting that the political movement to which a plurality of Americans belong likes to talk a lot about these ideas. But there’s no nationwide tea party backlash against lawn regulations.
From Michigan Woman Faces Jail Time For Vegetable Garden
This is just another instance of how the people who are against regulations of industry where there is a real problems of industry shifting its problems onto others by all kinds of externalities don’t seem to be willing to expend that much energy on regulations on individuals where the externalities are trivial.
