More on What We're Up Against

http://www.upstateblog.net is a pro-business blog serving upstate New York. In a recent entry here the blog gleefully celebrate the announcement (reported in the New York Times---subscription required) of the "death of environmentalism".

Here's their concluding paragraph

Why are environmental issues less popular than they once were? We'd say it's because voters, in New York and elsewhere, are much more skeptical about any benefits, and much more aware of the costs. New York's elected officials like to brag that we're "a national leader" in being green. They seldom mention that, over the 35 years since the original Earth Day, the Empire State has also been a national leader in loss of manufacturing jobs. (In 2004, Upstate's manufacturing employment fell by 2.4 percent, while the nation as a whole gained manufacturing jobs.) If "environmentalism" means government-imposed costs that have little or no real benefit, maybe "the death of environmentalism" isn't a bad thing.