by Robert M. Traxler
Our esteemed editor penned an editorial July 14 concerning the end of all life on Mother Earth due to Americans’ lack of environmental controls and programs. Below is a counter to his exceptionally well written piece.
He wrote, “As long as we collectively continue to fight Culture Wars and ignore the real problems we should try to solve together, we will be spiraling downward toward doom, whether it’s 2030, 2050 or 2525.”
Perhaps 18 months to “doom”?
There is nothing we as a nation can do to change that. Using today’s data, not five- to 10-year-old data, we produce 5 to 7 percent of the world’s carbon, we can cut out all carbon and the world will still increase overall carbon output.
Perhaps it is a good idea for those who predict we may be doomed in 18 months to take a breath. If true, there is nothing we can do to stop it, as we as a nation do not control the major sources of carbon. Perhaps some folks who are fatalistic just may end it all now rather than wait for the doom?
China has more automobiles than we do, and they pollute more per vehicle; the number is increasing in China and our number of operational vehicles is decreasing. China has 1,130 coal-powered power plants, while we have 220. China and India are increasing coal plants nearly two per month, and we are reducing them.
Perhaps the editorial should have been addressed to the folks who outsourced massive pollution to the underdeveloped nations, allowed by the climate change corporations, the United Nations and the entire climate industry. We as a nation do more about climate change than 94% of the world’s population.
Perhaps it is time we used common sense and not emotion to control carbon. Common sense does not allow shipping oil halfway around the world by super tanker, burning millions of gallons of high carbon diesel when we can move it by pipeline from Canada. A pipeline uses a very tiny amount of carbon producing fuel, compared to a super tanker burning diesel-powered internal combustion engines.
The environmental folks are cheering the shutdown of the pipeline from Canada, but willingly use oil from the Middle Eastern nations and South America? So just how is that common sense? Just how is that reducing carbon?
Perhaps it is time we produce items in our nation with its strict pollution laws and enforcement agencies and not in the third world with its darn near non-existent pollution controls. They have laws in China and India, but do not enforce them. The most polluted places on Earth are not Detroit or even in our nation, they are in India and China.
The United States is at zero population growth, even negative growth. Progressives like Vice President Kamala Harris, in a speech at Coppin State University July 15, 2023, advocates reducing our population to control climate change. We already are; we have China and India increasing population, China 9.56 million in 2022, India 25 million each year per UNICEF. At the current rate of increase, China and India will increase population by the size of the United States every eight years, perhaps less.
The progressive/socialist movement needs to understand if we are all dead in 18 months, or 7 years or 27 years, it is not that we are not doing enough to solve climate change — it is because others are not. The possibility of the end of all life is because the progressives and the American environmental movement/industry are bailing the sinking ship after the water is over the gunnels. Bailing may make them feel good, but it is accomplishing nothing.
The United States is reducing carbon and population, even with the truly asinine environmental rules like banning drilling and production in our nation with its strict laws, and welcoming drilling in other nations with much less effective environmental controls. Moving oil by ship burns millions of gallons of diesel, but who cares? The Keystone XL pipeline has been stopped, hooray.
Folks who comment in this esteemed publication accuse me of “throwing up my hands and saying there is nothing we can do.” To them I say, do the math, follow the science, look at reality; we have met the enemy and it is not us. Why we beat ourselves up for what others are doing is puzzling.
It’s time the progressives define the problem and see reality and stop blaming you and I for what other nations are doing. Will they? Not as long as the money is good. My opinion.
To say nothing of tankers being threatened by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy.
Twenty times in the last three years the IRI Navy interdicted ships in the Gulf of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Twice this spring the Iranians seized ships.
And lest you think that things are improving on the US – Iran relations under the current regime, it happened twice today (7/20) with the US Navy guided missle destroyer USS McFaul (DDG-74) foiling the attempts both times. MSNBC is hoping to have video tonight. It has previously foiled other attempts this month.
A few days ago the Pentagon (according the AP on 7/15) dispatched another destroyer the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-51) to the Oman region along with additional F-35 fighter jets to joins some A-10 Warthogs that have also been in action in the last two weeks.
Other reports indicate the US is using a re-purposed tanker as its floating base of operations. Possible deployments of F-22’s to the area is possible.
Anyone want to debate how ecologically friendly all this is? Tankers vs Pipelines.
Tankers vs. pipelines is an archaic paradigm. Wind, solar, and hydro renewables are the way forward.
Mr. Gless,
Sir, perhaps but we have been told that for the last 30 years and our President still went to the Mid-East to beg for more oil. More Mid-East oil more tankers, the pipeline from Canada could have saved millions of gallons of oil burned. Just why Mid-East oil is good and Canadian oil is bad is baffling. Why are we reopening the nuclear power plant in Covert if our very Progressive/Socialist Governor believes we do not need it need it? Oh, and spending, per NPR 300 million to do it?
Thanks for the comment.
It’s not baffling why Canadian tar sands oil is so terrible. It’s not pumped from underneath the desert wasteland. It is excavated from vital forest land after tribes, other locals, and wildlife have been displaced, then it’s pumped through vital continental aquifers where one stupid deregulated accident will spell unimaginable tragedy for every living entity across a vast region of America for God knows how long.
We’ve already got enough PFAS and other toxins in our water from the past hundred years of industry. All petroleum extraction and combustion is unequivocally harmful for our planet. Biden tried to negotiate lower Middle East petroleum prices in an attempt to placate his tens of millions of stable genius critics who think gas prices for our giant personal vehicles (in lieu of public transport) is the most important thing for our children’s future.
Renewable energy is due to make a great leap forward with the advent of AI. Canadian tar sands oil is just dumb, sad, and awful.
Jim,
Excellent point. Thanks for the comment.