By William Haupt III | The Center Square contributor
Al Gore, former Vice President of the United States speaks at the COP26 U.N. Climate Summit in Glasgow, Scotland, Friday, Nov. 5, 2021. Alastair Grant/AP Photos
"With all of the hysteria, all of the fear, all of the phony science, could it be that manmade global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people?" – James Inhofe (R-OK)
Whether scientists believe global warming is manmade is less relevant than what politicians do. A letter signed by over 50 members of the American Meteorological Society condemned the policies promoted by climate fanatics. They argue most of these initiatives are derived from unproven theories that global warming comes from burning fossil fuels, and they must be banned from earth.
This letter condemned political over-reaction to the unproven theory of manmade climate change. Responding to a 1995 UN climate change report on humanistic global warming, a frustrated Dr. Frederick Seitz, of the National Academy of Sciences, wrote, "This s not science, it is politics. With over sixty years as an atmospheric scientist I've never witnessed anything as disturbing as this."
Sometimes, winter-weary Washington D.C. needs a friendly reminder that global warming has been with us since the end of the last ice age, and it will come back in 50,000 years. The earth's climate alternates between ice ages and greenhouse periods, during which there are no glaciers on the planet. Legitimate meteorologists report the earth is currently in a "Quaternary glaciations period."
If the majority of climate scientists agree that global warming is a natural phenomenon, why does the left blame it on fossil fuels, cow-gas, lawnmowers, heating oil, landfills and even gas ovens?
Why is the left trying to recreate the world of Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble and cavemen?
In the 1992 election, Bill Clinton named moderate Al Gore his running mate to balance the ticket. Gore had written a book, "The Earth in the Balance," that lists the world's most pressing problems. His book included abuse of the earth's recourses. Clinton felt this would appeal to younger voters.
"Politics gives guys so much power that they tend to behave badly around women." – Bill Clinton
Clinton received the least votes ever to win a presidential election. Spoiler Ross Perot divided the conservative vote, which cost George H.W. Bush a win. Since Clinton had no mandate, Al Gore pitched his theory of manmade global warming for eight years to Congress, foreign nations, and to voters.
The presidential election of 2000 pitted Gore against George W Bush. As a cult hero for the new age, Gore ran as an environmentalist. But as it turned out, most of America wasn't ready to buy into global warming and he lost. Gore didn't even win his own home state of Tennessee.
"Hi, I am Al Gore, and I used to be the next president of the United States of America." – Al Gore
Gore's loss allowed him to pitch global warming full time. His film, "An Inconvenient Truth," a rehash of his climate slide show, grossed $50 million in the U.S. and in foreign nations. This made Gore's folly the 11th highest grossing documentary film produced in the U.S. By now, we all know that Gore did not invent the internet. But he did invent the science of manmade climate change.
In 2007, Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his campaign to make global warming a political issue. The Nobel Committee said Gore had done more than anyone to make government take action on climate change. Now we know why mankind is blamed for every hot and cold day. The Democratic Party has made global warming a priority on their docket. This is not because they care about saving the planet from calamitous destruction. It is because the climate geeks back the Democratic Party and give generously to their campaigns. That's why the left has declared war on all fossil fuels.
"Our addiction to using coal, oil, and natural gas is destroying our planet." – Joe Biden
Barack Obama's 2009 fiscal stimulus plan gifted billions in tax dollars to green energy startups and it turned into a colossal failure. The House Oversight Committee found there was mismanagement, dysfunction, and inaccurate records where the $14 billion went as their businesses went belly up.
With the failure of Solyndra, Obama’s $80 billion clean-technology plan became a political liability.
Biden’s first executive orders deployed a regulatory agenda to increase strict regulations on energy producers. He not only pulled the plug on Keystone, but outlawed drilling on federal lands. He then issued unreasonable mileage criteria for new cars. Biden's Inflation Reduction Act is a gift to those who can afford to buy or build an electric car. But saying it reduces inflation is an "inconvenient fib."
Democrats have been pushing a ban on natural gas for years. Biden's energy advisers want to ban gas stoves due to concerns over emissions. They are considering regulating the use of gas hot water heaters, gas barbecues, gas lawn movers and gas central heating. Last month, Joe Biden announced they will phase out natural gas in all federal buildings. What's next?
Bob Dylan wrote, "Perception is not reality." The 1995 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the global warmers bible on how humans are ruining the earth. But the original report did not claim this. When the IPCC drew up the conference summary, they altered the report. This doctored thesis negatively influenced many people about suicidal manmade global warming.
Recommendations for bridge alternative energy sources were left completely out of the summary.
Renewable natural gas (RNG) is a pipeline-quality gas that is fully interchangeable with natural gas and thusly can be used in natural gas vehicles. RNG is essentially biogas, the gaseous product of the decomposition of organic matter generated in every trash dump, or landfill across the country.
To fuel vehicles, biogas involves the removal of water, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and other elements. The resulting biogas has a higher content of methane, which makes it equal to natural gas. It is a suitable energy source for any application that requires gas – with half the emissions.
In 2020, the American Petroleum Institute (API) launched its “Energy for Progress” campaign. They describe natural gas as the environmentally friendly energy that reduces CO2 emissions. It also produces far fewer pollutants that can harm human health as well as vegetation. They also remind us that increasing global exports of U.S. gas will help lower the world’s carbon footprint.
Policymaking should be guided by proven facts, not by speculation. Members of the IPCC say that current climate models don't accurately portray the atmosphere-ocean system. Yet satellites show no global warming but a cooling of 0.13°C since 1997. This tends to make all legitimate scientists question; "is there such a thing as manmade global warming or was this invented for politicians."
The world expects America to bail them out when they need help, but we can't do it without energy.
"Would you bet your paycheck on a weather forecast for tomorrow? If not, then why should this country bet billions on global warming predictions that have less foundation?" – Thomas Sowell
