This libertarian outlook is a bit dangerous, I think. The problem is that, while the small businesses mentioned in the article (cosmetology, moving) are unlikely to destroy the environment, kill people, or generally mess things up, there are plenty of businesses, some even “small” by some people’s definition, that either could potentially, or already have, mess(ed) things up. The general call I hear lately for less government regulation is not, I think, about getting nibbled by fish, as the example in the article details. It’s a thinly veiled attempt to remove the protections we enjoy against messing things up.

While our federal or state government may want to take a protectionist stance on this issue, I don’t think it meshes with the global nature of the market. The reality is that natural gas is a commodity that will be shuttled around the world to the best (highest-paying) markets, in the current system.

This same scenario is being played out with other fossil fuels (i.e. coal and tar sands oil) as we strive to extract the last bits all over the earth. Unfortunately, the U.S. and Canada are blessed with lots of these essential commodities, and we will inevitably suffer from exploiting them.