Progressives: Better Is Never Enough!

Mish points us to an article that says cargo ships have slowed down to save fuel and reduce pollution. The (admittedly dramatic) example given is a very large ship which used to emit as much CO₂ as the 30 least-polluting nations in the world. Slowing down 20% saves 40% on fuel costs, and cuts 'greenhouse' gas emissions by 30%.

The only problem: this puts the speed of cargo vessels back to where it was 150+ years ago. It takes a while to cross the oceans at 14 knots. Still, if you don't mind your freight being even slower than it used to be (the ocean is not a famously fast transport medium) this is an admirable thing to do. But what does Greenpeace (a.k.a. the people the US Government calls 'terrorists' for their radical environmentalist activities) say?

There oughtta be a law! They found a way to be slower save money pollute less, so let's MANDATE that they MUST!!!

It is not, and will never be enough pollution reduction for the watermelons out there. The desire for regulation on the part of a Statist and the mouth of hell are never full. Therefore, the logical thing to do is ignore them altogether and do what seems best at the most profitable price-point we can get away with. Make no mistake: if Maersk weren't saving a jillion dollars in fuel, they wouldn't give two cents for saving those tonnes of carbon dioxide. They should tell Greenpeace "what do you want for free!" and make a rude gesture at them, and go about their business.