Trump has been mocked for dismissing climate change (it used to be called global warming) as a con job. In fact global temperatures have increased slightly over the last hundred years or so, and it is likely that the significant percentage increase in CO2 in the atmosphere has probably caused this or has contributed to it. However the negative effects have been grossly exaggerated by the media and by the advocacy groups that have seized on it as a cause to promote. In fact, the statistics show that there have been no statistically measurable increases in extreme weather phenomena. There have been no increases in hurricanes nor have they become more severe; the damage they have caused has increased because more people have chosen to live in coastal areas where the risk is highest. Wildfires have been caused mainly by poor forest management, and on several occasions, by deliberate arson. The only measurable negative effect of rising temperatures has been a very small but steady rise in sea levels. In fact most people prefer warmer weather, which is why Canadians and New Yorkers tend to choose Florida rather than Alaska as a retirement location. Even more significant is the fact that there are several important measurable benefits to higher CO2 levels and a warmer planet. CO2 is an indispensable plant nutrient; without it there would be no life on Earth. Millions of years ago CO2 formed a much higher concentration in the atmosphere, and plants flourished much more vigorously than today. It was this luxurious growth that eventually got buried underground that turned into fossil fuels that we now use to create power. Inexpensive power drives modern civilization; we cannot flourish without it. So called ‘green’ energy, windmills and solar panels, can never supply the power we currently use, and certainly cannot meet the rapidly increasing demand for electricity that AI is creating. Another benefit of a warmer climate is the rapid movement of the tree line towards the poles, increasing timber growth and also increasing the arable land area on the planet. More important is the fact that plants grow more vigorously with more CO2, and require less water, making it possible to farm land previously deemed useless for agriculture. This is a significant benefit, especially for third world countries.
The futile efforts to limit the use of fossil fuels by Europe and some parts of the US have increased CO2 emissions because they have merely priced us out of manufacturing and transferred the production to China and other far Eastern countries where coal fired electricity plants have proliferated, a shift that has increased CO2 emissions because coal is dirtier than the natural gas, which, in the US, is the main fuel used to generate electricity.
Yes, climate change is happening, but it is not by any means a disaster. We can easily adapt where necessary, we can enjoy the positive effects and cope with the small negative effects without difficulty. Trump is right, it’s a con job.
stephenscohen.com 