The most irritating aspect of climate change movement is that activists use it as an excuse to try to micromanage all aspects of our lives. Take, for example, this column in the New York Times, asking readers to consider changing their July 4th festivities in order to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. According to the writer, food is responsible for 10 to 30 percent of these emissions – and so the responsible thing to do is make sacrifices with our cooking on Independence Day:
Fourth of July, the national celebration of combustion, presents an opportunity for atonement.
I’m not advising you to forsake grilling this holiday and join the ranks of raw-foodists. Nor do I believe that we can reverse climate change by eating burgers rare instead of well done. But a little creative thinking can reduce this year’s Fourth of July carbon emissions without gustatory sacrifice. And maybe that awareness will carry into other days and other parts of our lives.
The author goes on to suggest we fry the potatoes for our potato salad instead of boiling them (sacrilege!), use recycled charcoal briquettes and replace apple pie with plain grilled fruit.
Forget the fact these alterations would have such a miniscule impact of greenhouse gas emissions that it would be completely irrelevant. Is it any coincidence that the Fourth of July, the most patriotic of all of our holidays, is the event being targeted here? There are plenty of Earth Day barbecues the New York Times might be better off opposing. And at least the Earth Day crowd might actually listen.
