Unintended, Negative Impact of ‘Green’ Efforts

By staff - Nov 14, 2011 -

In the past several years, environmentalists, policymakers, and some evangelicals have called on the U.S. and world governments to drastically curb and even eliminate the use of coal, oil, and fossil fuels. A recent paper by Dr. Timothy Terrell, an economics professor at Wofford College, evaluates these “green” efforts from the perspectives of economics and the Christian faith. He finds that these efforts often have detrimental consequences, harming the people they seek to protect. In his paper, launched at a briefing on Capitol Hill and released by the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, Dr. Terrell argues that many green efforts actually degrade the environment and negatively impact the poor. He states that expansive regulation and central government mandates reduce prosperity and cripple private enterprise. In turn, this can have unintended, negative consequences on the lives of people around the world. Dr. Terrell’s paper can be accessed online from the Cornwall Alliance. (PDF – 555 KB)

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