On the heels of the recent report that we’ll all be dead from climate change in a few decades, several friends have asked me – how do libertarians feel about climate change? As with anything involving libertarian philosophy, the answer isn’t exactly simple and requires some further explanation.
Most libertarians live by the creed that our political party professes – don’t hurt anybody and don’t take their stuff. Arguably, harming the environment in any way would fall under that realm of violating our principles, because the environment is something that we all live in.
If you take part in poisoning an area’s groundwater or air, you’re effectively hurting several people and certainly taking their stuff, namely their ability to drink water and breath safely. Environmental laws are something that libertarians, in theory, would be in favor of since they stop senseless abuses by the rich and powerful – and more importantly, their attempts to hurt less powerful people’s bodies and properties.
