In “Some see red on Denver’s green plan” (June 12), Mayor Hickenlooper justifies his radical global warming plan by asserting, “According to most polls, 70 percent of the people in Colorado recognize there is global warming.”
However, recognizing the Earth has moderately warmed since the end of the Little Ice Age does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the City of Denver should impose extremist limitations on its citizens. So far, global warming has resulted in longer growing seasons, expanding forests, and increased crop production. And even if we speculate that at some point we will experience “global warming gone bad,” Denver’s proposed plan is all pain and no gain. The plan will not reduce global warming by any measurable degree, yet will impose significant economic costs on Denver citizens.
James M. Taylor ([email protected]) is senior fellow for environment policy at The Heartland Institute.
