George Will Goes Off His Meds

When George Will talks about ANWR, you expect him to get it spectacularly wrong. In that, he does not disappoint. He cites the bogus 2,000 acres figure¹, says the 10.4 billion barrel figure is likely an underestimate², and uses completely meaningless statistics to make it sound like more than it really is (enough to supply for Massachusetts for 75 years³! 20% of domestic production⁴!). In explaining how not pristine the area is, he reveals this astounding fact: "There are no trees."⁵

But that's all just ignorance and dishonesty, which are standard in a Will column. Not until halfway through the column does the mask of rationality slip, and reveal the howling madness beneath:

For some people, environmentalism is collectivism in drag. They use environmental causes and rhetoric not to change the political climate for the purpose of environmental improvement. Rather, changing society's politics is the end, and environmental policies are mere means to that end....The primary goal of collectivism -- of socialism in Europe and contemporary liberalism in America -- is to enlarge governmental supervision of individuals' lives. This is done in the name of equality.

People are to be conscripted into one large cohort, everyone equal (although not equal in status or power to the governing class) in their status as wards of a self-aggrandizing government. Government says the constant enlargement of its supervising power is necessary for the equitable or efficient allocation of scarce resources.

Therefore, one of the collectivists' tactics is to produce scarcities, particularly of what makes modern society modern -- the energy requisite for social dynamism and individual autonomy. Hence collectivists use environmentalism to advance a collectivizing energy policy. They stress the environmental hazards of finding, developing, transporting or using oil, natural gas, coal or nuclear power.

Yes, that's right: Environmentalists aren't really environmentalists! They're Collectivists! Who conspire to create artificial shortages! Because their true goal is expanding The Government! Not for anything The Government can do for people, but for its own sake! Dammit, the people have a right to know the truth!

Or, you could, y'know, consider that maybe environmentalists, y'know, care about the environment and stuff. Occam's razor and all. I'm just saying.

What makes this truly bizarre is that Will has always been one of the 'respectable' rightists (and particularly contemptuous of conspiracy theories in general), more boring than wingnutty. To see him offer up his own thoroughly demented conspiracy theory (a theory that doesn't even have any internal logic to recommend it) is a little disorienting, like seeing WorldNet Daily take over the Washington Post editorial pages.

But I know it's callous and unfeeling to harp on my reaction, when Will is the one who has problems nothing short of powerful pharmaceuticals can solve. I just hope they get the dosage right.


¹The 2000 acres would be scattered across a wide area, not contiguous, and exclude the connecting infrastructure; details here.
²The figure is a mean estimate; it as likely to be an overestimate as an underestimate.
³Massachusetts has 2% of the total population; 75 Massachusetts-years translates to about a year and a half for the U.S. as a whole.
⁴Which is only 5% of domestic consumption, much less than could be saved with a modest increase in CAFE standards.
⁵It's fucking tundra, you moron.

[That's all, folks]