Thomas Friedman: There is No Green Revolution

The New York Times has finally ended its Times Select policy where we could link to news (available everywhere) but not opinion. Thus we can now inflict upon our readers the full silliness and wrongheadness of writers like Thomas L. Friedman, who goes to Doha in the Mideast and Dalian in China, two booming cities covered in construction cranes, consuming oil and spewing CO2 like there is no tomorrow. He uses them to make that point so beloved of those who would have us do nothing about global warming:

Hey, I’m really glad you switched to long-lasting compact fluorescent light bulbs in your house. But the growth in Doha and Dalian ate all your energy savings for breakfast. I’m glad you bought a hybrid car. But Doha and Dalian devoured that before noon. I am glad that the U.S. Congress is debating whether to bring U.S. auto mileage requirements up to European levels by 2020. Doha and Dalian will have those gains for lunch — maybe just the first course. I’m glad that solar and wind power are “soaring” toward 2 percent of U.S. energy generation, but Doha and Dalian will devour all those gains for dinner. I am thrilled that you are now doing the “20 green things” suggested by your favorite American magazine. Doha and Dalian will snack on them all, like popcorn before bedtime.

Thanks, Tom, for making all of your readers on Central Park West feel better about their four homes. Thanks for your conclusion "There is no green revolution, or, if there is, the counter-revolution is trumping it at every turn." It makes all of us feel really useful. ::New York Times