If any of you have followed my posts on this site, you know I’m no great fan of the heavy-handed tactics employed by activist governments. I am, for example, philosophically opposed to the smoking ban in cars (as opposed to being pro-tobacco, a fact that seems to be lost on most of you). I’m sure I’m going to get a similar response for my stand on this latest act of lunacy by California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

If any of you have followed my posts on this site, you know I’m no great fan of the heavy-handed tactics employed by activist governments. I am, for example, philosophically opposed to the smoking ban in cars (as opposed to being pro-tobacco, a fact that seems to be lost on most of you). I’m sure I’m going to get a similar response for my stand on this latest act of lunacy by California State Attorney General Bill Lockyer.

On Wednesday, September 20, the Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against GM, Ford, Toyota, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, and Nissan for creating a “public nuisance” by producing too many vehicles that emit excessive amounts of carbon dioxide, believed to be a major contributor to global warming. Perhaps the do-gooder Mr. Bill and his posse should be suing all the Bob & Betty Suburbanites that are buying the trucks and SUVs that are contributing to this perceived menace. Once again, the socialistic (dare I say communistic?) tendencies of the leviathan that is California state government shows itself. You cannot legislate market demands. The public wants what the public wants. If they want huge, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs, who are you to say they can’t buy them? Even if you slap a punitive “gas-guzzler tax” on them, if people want them bad enough, they’ll still buy them.

Personally, I’m a fan of efficient, fun-to-drive compacts; so on one hand, my inner enthusiast breaks out in a Nelson Muntz “Ha-ha!” when I read stories like this. But my libertarian, strict-constructionalist self bristles at the gall and arrogance of government to make such a heavy-handed move.

Let me set the record straight (again). I’m not for dirty air or global warming. I am for clean air and a clean environment. I am an avid advocate and practitioner of recycling, and have replaced all my incandescent light bulbs in my house with power-saving compact fluorescent bulbs (mostly because I like lower power bills). But I believe when it comes to products, let the market decide unless they’re objectively and directly harmful to consumers. Short of someone locking themselves in the garage and running a hose from the tailpipe into the cab, I seriously doubt anyone has died or been seriously injured directly from truck or SUV emissions. If you know of a case to the contrary, I’d love to hear about it.

–Edward A. Sanchez