Every time I hear the claim that the environmentalists are going to ruin America, sink our economy and destroy various businesses, I think of the automotive industry’s similar claim in the early 1970s. Who cares if cars are making the air unbreathable (contributing to might be more accurate)? The “smog” regulations are going to kill the auto industry, put an end to muscle cars, hurt gas mileage, ruin cars’ ability to accelerate. On and on the laments went. Still, the regulations were passed, the auto industry went to work and now they build 770 horsepower street cars that get better mileage than my 1970 Duster ever thought about getting. And what do you know; the air isn’t so bad either. So, thank God for the environmentalists who forced change on the auto industry or we’d probably be choking on Beijing air.
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