My Favorite Law
Just behind the Law of Gravity, which keeps me from floating out to space, my favorite law is the Law of Unintended Consequences.
It gets applied every day.
For example, the decision not to drill for oil in ANWAR, in order to protect the planet and the caribou that trod it, may end up with a growing herd of antler methane producers. Similarly, protecting the polar bear, a species that now has a population estimated at 25,000, can lead to the growth in that population that will generate enough bear-farts to pollute the Arctic and cause the melting of the ice cap - needed to support the polar bear.
Another example, attempts to solve the shortage of petroleum products by replacing drilled oil products with ethanol ends up diverting food to fuel vehicles, with the result being food shortages and starving populations throughout the world.
Another example, not yet happening but in the cards, Florida's opposition to drilling in the Gulf, based on a desire to preserve its beach-dependent tourism business, may end up with gas prices rising so high that hundreds of thousands of people who might once have come to the state now unable to afford the drive to Florida to enjoy the beaches.
When we mess with nature and the natural market, create problems instead of solving them.
It gets applied every day.
For example, the decision not to drill for oil in ANWAR, in order to protect the planet and the caribou that trod it, may end up with a growing herd of antler methane producers. Similarly, protecting the polar bear, a species that now has a population estimated at 25,000, can lead to the growth in that population that will generate enough bear-farts to pollute the Arctic and cause the melting of the ice cap - needed to support the polar bear.
Another example, attempts to solve the shortage of petroleum products by replacing drilled oil products with ethanol ends up diverting food to fuel vehicles, with the result being food shortages and starving populations throughout the world.
Another example, not yet happening but in the cards, Florida's opposition to drilling in the Gulf, based on a desire to preserve its beach-dependent tourism business, may end up with gas prices rising so high that hundreds of thousands of people who might once have come to the state now unable to afford the drive to Florida to enjoy the beaches.
When we mess with nature and the natural market, create problems instead of solving them.
posted by Old Enough to Know Better | 10:11 AM
2 Comments:
I like that law too, from now on....
by the way, Sagada is in the Mountainous Regions of the Philippines... Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines... I'm actually plannig to go back again, most probably by July...
I like that law too, from now on....
by the way, Sagada is in the Mountainous Regions of the Philippines... Sagada, Mountain Province, Philippines... I'm actually plannig to go back again, most probably by July...
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