Elitists jam "voluntary" recycling down citizens' throats

In San Francisco the government has proposed fining people up to $1,000 for failing to sort their trash. In Seattle they now tag trash cans of those who do not recycle.

Big Brother is definitely watching recycling ... that "voluntary" act of separating glass from plastic from cardboard to send off to be used in another product, as reported in a recent Wall Street Journal article:

There are also new federal and state proposals to snoop on citizens in our own homes. California is considering a plan to police the temperature settings on residents' thermostats. The feds are checking on the flush capacity of our toilets and the kinds of light bulbs we use.

A new game called Climate Crime Cards urges kids to spy on and keep an online record of their family's environmental faux pas -- noting when their parents fail to turn off the TV, plug in too many appliances or use the clothes dryer on a sunny day.

Sen. John Warner, a Republican from Virginia, wants to bring back the reviled 55-mile-per-hour federal speed limit law so that America can reduce gasoline consumption.

Barack Obama believes that properly inflating the tires on our cars is the solution to our energy woes. Is the government going to start giving tickets for failure to inflate?

Climate Crime Cards? Children are encouraged to spy and report on their parents' energy behavior ... where have we heard something similar in the past? Does anyone remember the dark days of communism in Germany and other parts of the world?

The rich and famous who spearhead much of the recycling talk continue to live in huge houses, drive multiple vehicles, and fly in private jets. Yet they feel the need to hammer environmental "savings" nonsense at ordinary Americans who live in 1,500-square-foot houses and own a maximum of two vehicles (usually since both adults have jobs).

The Journal article continued:

Many studies have shown that the environmental benefits from household recycling are minimal or at least highly exaggerated (because it uses a lot of energy and those recycling trucks emit a lot of greenhouse gases). America is not in danger of ever running out of landfill to store our garbage.

For example, a study by Daniel Benjamin, an economist at Clemson, finds that we could store all of America's garbage for the next century within the property of Ted Turner's ranch in Montana, with 50,000 acres undisturbed for the horse and bison. [emphasis added]

In reality, household recycling is mostly about absolving the guilt of Lexus liberals who just hate themselves for enjoying an affluent 21st-century lifestyle. The aim seems to be less saving nature than building self-esteem.

And it has worked. Too well. I can barely tolerate the proud recyclers, hybrid-car owners and "save the polar bear" button-wearers who smother us with their self-righteousness. A few weeks ago I was at the house of some friends, and I accidentally tossed a plastic Gatorade bottle into the glass recycling bin. You would have thought that I had made a pass at their daughter.

Read the entire article here.