> There are many zombie environmental groups that will continue to fight against anything humans try to change about the built environment, but over time the as

> There are many zombie environmental groups that will continue to fight against anything humans try to change about the built environment, but over time the astonishingly good economics will move them to the side. I think environmental groups are just the tip of the iceberg that gets blamed for things because they're visible. They just don't have that much political clout (aside from the very large "environmental group" that's people who are concerned about climate change -- which may be a majority of all living humans at this point). As an example, consider strict environmental regulations on oil refineries. It seems like those must be pushed by environmental groups, right? But it can also be a case of regulatory capture by the incumbent refineries. The regulations don't apply to them because they were grandfathered in, but the regulations are their moat protecting them from any upstart competitors. Or consider fuel economy standards. Those must be pushed by environmentalists, right? But then why do light pickup trucks have very strict fuel economy standards, and larger trucks have looser, easier-to-meet standards to the point where it's hard to actually make a light truck that conforms to the standards and isn't really slow and underpowered. It's almost like the incumbent automakers have been successful at lobbying for regulations that protect the lucrative market for oversized trucks by ensuring that smaller trucks are unappealing, unavailable, or too expensive. (The chicken tax is another example.)