Alcohol, Climate Change, and Landscaping

The government currently enforces a system of alcohol distribution whereby importers, breweries, and wineries can only sell to wholesalers.

Some government ads about global warming have been ruled “too frightening” for children.

A couple in Orange County was threatened with fines and jail time for replacing their grass lawn with a “drought-tolerant” lawn of rosemary and lavender.

 

1. REGULATION

The government currently enforces a system of alcohol distribution whereby importers, breweries, and wineries can only sell to wholesalers.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Risk and Environmental Policy Angela Logomasini on why this system hurts small businesses.

“Small-production wineries and importers are at a huge disadvantage in this situation. Large distributors often prefer to deal with the larger-scale wineries that have bigger inventories. It is easier and more profitable for them to push greater volume wines than to market a host of small portfolios. There are some small-scale distributors who specialize in boutique wines, but they too are at a disadvantage as restaurants often focus on distributors with extensive selections”

 

2. ENVIRONMENT

Some U.K. government ads about global warming have been ruled “too frightening” for children.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Scholar Fran Smith on the scare-monger tactics of the ad campaign.

“Recently the Advertising Standards Authority ruled that some of the campaign’s print ads using nursery rhymes overstated the risks of global warming and were to be banned. But it passed on a TV ad that got almost 1000 complaints that it was too scary. Check out an earlier CEI post on global warming alarmists’ exploitation of children. Look again at CEI’s response to an earlier apocalyptic video shown at the COP-15 Copenhagen meeting on climate change.”

 

3. LEGAL

A couple in Orange County, California was threatened with fines and jail time for replacing their grass lawn with a “drought-tolerant” lawn of rosemary and lavender.

CEI Expert Available to Comment: Warren Brookes Fellow Ryan Young on the local government’s overreaction.

“This is a fancy way of saying, ‘you will do what I tell you.’ This is not a healthy attitude for any person to have. The Has pled not guilty in court on March 2. If they lose, they are looking at up to six months of jail time and a $1,000 fine. Fortunately, after a rash of bad publicity surrounding the court hearing, the city announced within hours that it was considering dropping the charges.”