Colorado’s “green” rules aren’t about the planet—they’re about control

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project

Being a good steward of the earth means doing it their way

One of my pet theories about statists (adherents to a political system in which the state has substantial centralized control over social and economic affairs per the Oxford Dictionary) is that while they say their objective is to make the world more inclusive or green or whatever, what they really want is to control you.

It’s not inclusive if you don’t do it my way.

It’s not green if you don’t do it my way.

I reject this notion wholeheartedly. I believe it is perfectly possible to be a decent person who wants to include everyone without doing it their way. I believe it’s possible to be a good steward of this earth and the beings living on it without doing it their way.

The Colorado Sun article linked at bottom provides a good example. Nominally, it’s about an old idea made new by the Sun shining on it. It’s a junkyard. It might have a catchy name, it might appeal to Sun reporters, but the concept isn’t new. You take used parts off of vehicles and reuse them.

The Sun makes hay off of the vehicles not filling up landfills, a not-bad thing, but the larger point to me here is the fact that one way to be green is to reduce your overall consumption.

For example, instead of buying a new car, why not keep your current one a while longer? It’s paid for and any pollution or greenhouse gas emissions associated with its manufacture are already here. As long as the car has newer technology, is in good shape, and is reasonably efficient, it’s not adding much more with its use.

Not needlessly buying new reduces emissions from future manufacture.

Extend this idea a bit and you can see how our state and national policy is a failure in this regard. Ban your internal combustion engines, ban your natural gas heating and stoves, close down existing fossil fuel power plants and starting tilting up windmills and laying down panels.

Take efficient, functioning equipment, equipment we’ve already bought the “emissions” for, and replace it with new equipment with a whole bunch of new emissions.** What have we gained in this?

If we’re concerned about emissions, why not let the items that run on fossil fuels with high efficiencies age out naturally and replace them as they go? If the concern were entirely about saving our planet this would be a better way to go, albeit one that would take longer.

I can’t help but see how the sped up “transition” is an improvement or is fewer emissions overall, thus I can’t help but wonder if what we’re about is as much social control as anything else.

It’s as much “do it my way” as it is worry about the environment.

**Yes, Virginia, manufacturing new EVs, heat pumps, wind turbines, solar panels, creates greenhouse gas emissions and pollutants.

https://coloradosun.com/2025/10/20/car-recycling-colorado-shift-used-auto-parts/

READ THE FULL COMMENTARY AT THE COLORADO ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT

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