County government cannot do anything about climate change

The idea that Monroe County government can reduce global temperatures by even one billionth of one degree is laughable.

Monroe County is one of 92 counties in Indiana, with a population of about 140,000 people. There are about 8 billion people on Planet Earth. Whatever one thinks about climate change and what international agreements need to be in place to deal with the issue, climate change is a matter of global proportions, not some thing that can or should be addressed by Monroe County government.

One candidate for county commissioner had three agenda items for "climate change" in the May 7 primary election:

✓ Reduce housing sprawl to limit carbon-emitting transportation means.

✓ Focus on transit-oriented development.

✓ Approve more than just single-family housing projects, which leave expensive carbon footprints.

Not all of these are bad ideas. Transit-oriented development is helpful for people who do not own a vehicle and still need to get to work. County government can work with city government to make sure rural developments have access to Bloomington Transit as the bus service expands from the city limits into the county. The County Commissioners will negotiate the deal and the County Council will deal with the appropriations. This is not a good policy because of "climate change," but because it benefits people in Monroe County.

As far as single-family units, many people do not want to live in a multi-family unit. There is a reason that "the American dream" has been a home and a yard for many generations now. That is why the demand for homes in the county is single-family homes, not apartment buildings. It is not up to county government to adopt a command-and-control approach to what type of housing we will or will not have. That should be determined by individual choice and the free market.

Urban sprawl was something that was heavily debated in the 1990's and early 2000's. Whether you agree with those reasons or not, there are local policy reasons for limiting sprawl: Preserving greenspace and the burden on transportation infrastructure are two local reasons for limiting sprawl and are worthy of discussion in local growth policy. Limiting transportation for the purposes of "combating climate change" sounds like limiting freedom of movement. That is not something that should be under the purview of county government.

Some people in Bloomington think we are the center of the universe, but in reality we do not matter at all. The job of local government, whether the county commissioners or the city council, is to make this community as safe and economically prosperous as possible for the people who live here. Restrictions of economic growth and private property rights in the name of "global climate change" is a fool's errand and shows a lack of seriousness. Local politicians need make policy for local issues, not global issues.