President Donald Trump touched upon a range of topics he regarded as of utmost importance to the nation in his State of the Union address, but one was conspicuously absent: climate change. That did not go unnoticed. Climate alarmists were shocked that their pet crisis was not even worthy of mentioning and condemned him in strong words.
Lisa Graumlich, dean of the environment college at the University of Washington, said, “I have been doing research on climate change since the 1970s, and it always seemed very far away in time and space…. And that has changed. I don’t think that future presidents will find themselves in this position, because people are feeling the effects of climate change.” [perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=”24″]…if America ceased to exist, it would hardly make a dent in global warming…[/perfectpullquote]
Joel Clement, senior fellow with the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who resigned from Trump’s administration, said that “to not say anything about [climate change] is just ignorance, and it’s irresponsible.”
So is the president an ignorant fool? No, he is an independent thinker who doesn’t accept something automatically as true just because a bunch of government-funded experts says so. He has a cunning ability to pick up and evaluate contrarian ideas. Sometimes he misses the mark, as in the case of Obama’s birth certificate, but often he is right.
Climate change may be one of the issues on which he is right. Let’s look at the key facts that may have convinced Trump to dismiss global warming as a problem.
#1: China, China, China and India
In the past decade, the United States has been the greatest reducer of CO2 emissions in the world. At the same time, emissions from the Third World, and China in particular, have skyrocketed. China is today the number one emitter, and it will increase its carbon footprint as it rapidly continues to industrialize. India has had even more rapid growth but from a lower base. In just a couple of years, it will surpass the United States in emissions.
Here is the clincher: Even if America ceased to exist, it would hardly make a dent in global warming because China and India and soon the rest of the Third World are the great emitters. Trump captured this point perfectly in a recent sarcastic tweet about the Green New Deal:
“I think it is very important for the Democrats to press forward with their Green New Deal. It would be great for the so-called ‘Carbon Footprint’ to permanently eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military – even if no other country would do the same. Brilliant!”
I think it is very important for the Democrats to press forward with their Green New Deal. It would be great for the so-called “Carbon Footprint” to permanently eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military – even if no other country would do the same. Brilliant!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2019
The Paris Climate Agreement is a sham. In summary, it says that the United States must take most of the pain but with no effect on the climate. Worst deal ever!
#2: Poverty Kills, Not Climate Change
Look at the graph, and you may understand why Trump didn’t mention climate change.
As the world grew richer, climate-related deaths plummeted. Bad weather is dangerous only if you are poor, and increased wealth protects the world against both natural and manmade climate events.
The best way to prevent global warming issues is to make sure people are rich enough and have good enough technology to handle the problems.
#3: Lackluster Warming
When Trump saw the graph, he understood that global warming is not going to be a problem, as would any decision maker who can identify the most significant facts.
It shows the global average temperature as measured by satellites in the last 40 years. Since the 1990s, global warming has ground to a halt, contrary to most of the models from the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This does not spell disaster.
In fact, the lackluster warming was predicted by solar scientists who say the sun most impacts climate, not CO2. If they are right, we are on the verge of an extended cooling period.
No-Brainer
Each of the above three points on its own is enough to warrant being highly skeptical of spending an enormous amount of money on combating climate change. When you see all three in combination, the decision seems to be a no-brainer: Climate change can safely be dismissed – for now.
Trump ignored commenting on climate change because his priority is America first, not polar bears.
