Fine Dust Delusion

The latest environmental boogieman making the rounds in Asia is "fine dust." It seems to be a catch-all for everything from emission particulates to construction site dirt. The South Korean Environment Ministry, roughly equivalent to our own EPA boondoggle, are busily proposing solutions for this non-existent problem, all the while publishing reams of scare literature and fright commercials for television in an attempt to whip the Eloi into a frenzy of ignorant panic. Recently, however, they stepped right smack on their own metaphorical dick:

The government said that emissions from diesel engine cars are the main culprit of locally produced fine dust. Adding that worn-out diesel cars running in the country are the first thing that should be avoided, it said that it would gradually cut down the advantages given to diesel car owners.

The decision came after President Park Geun-hye’s comments that “automobiles are the key cause of fine dust, which underlines the need for environmentally friendly cars,” during a Cabinet meeting on May 10.

In that vein, the Environment Ministry proposed last month a plan during a ministerial meeting to increase the price of diesel. The ministry said “by raising the (diesel) price to the similar level of gasoline, the number of diesel cars running in the city will naturally go down and become similar to cars powered by gasoline.”

As soon as the price hike plan was revealed, the government was criticized for being self-contradictory as there had been a lack of explanation for the connection between the rising level of fine dust and the use of diesel cars.

In 2009, the government had designated diesel cars as eco-friendly cars for its good fuel efficiency. In order to boost the sales of diesel cars, the government also began exempting at least 100,000 won of environmental improvement charges for those who drove diesel cars, along with a discount advantage at public parking lots. As a result, the number of diesel car purchasers skyrocketed, accounting for half of the newly registered vehicles in 2015.

Diesel is good... until we say it isn't. Idiotic moves like this only serve to further demonstrate the fallacy of creating a bureaucracy whose job is to manage the unmanageable. When one Threat to Humankind™ is discredited, they'll simply invent another out of the air... or the dirt, in this case.