It is painfully obvious what has happened in the Green Energy State (and DEI State). The Wall Street Journal editorial, California’s Climate Time for Choosing (January 10, 2025), subtitled “Sacramento tilts at reducing temperatures while its cities burn from failure to adapt to a variable climate,” fairly described the quandary of the (now) Smoke State.
“Democrats blame the L.A. blazes on the changing climate, which is a convenient excuse as citizens rage against the failures of state and local government.” Continuing:
The evidence doesn’t support the climate explanation since (among other reasons) California has had a dry climate and Santa Ana winds, even with hurricane-force gusts on occasion, for centuries. If the Democrats who run the state believe their own advertising, why not spend money in useful ways rather than on a green-energy transition to nowhere?
The editorial closed: “It’s time for Democrats to choose which is more important: Their climate obsessions or citizens.”
Counter-narrative …
Against the sober evaluation of California priorities and actions, the climate alarmists have desperately tried to flip the narrative. As discussed yesterday, Joe Romm argued:
In a rational and moral world, the catastrophe of the Los Angeles fires, fueled in part by climate change, would be one of many climate ‘Pearl Harbors’ that might help wake up the public to the urgent need for climate action.
I rejoined:
Is it just a coincidence that the worst of the worst happened in California, the Climate State? The Green State? The DEI State? Joe, the mainstream is not buying your ‘Climate Ate My Homework’ reasoning.
… to Vile Counter-narrative
One Tzeporah Berman, International Program Director Stand.earth & Chair at Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, has a take on the southern California wildfires. Her vitriol (below) is worth memorializing, and not in a good way. “Los Angeles has burned in the most destructive fires in US history and fossil fuel profiteers are the arsonists holding the gas can,” she begins. ” Our cities are at the mercy of the climate oil, gas and coal has built.” She continues:
In the last week 170,000 people have been evacuated, 10 have died, 35,000 acres have burned taking thousands of homes and businesses with them. Fire is a normal part of the California landscape but this is a catastrophe beyond any bounds of normalcy. It was primed to occur because of the unseasonably dry landscape, the lack of rainfall, and the unnaturally high Santa Ana winds. Vegetation became tinder as it dried out. Thanks to the climate crisis….
This is unambiguously a result of our obsession with burning oil, gas, and coal. While our species’ mastery of fire has seemed like a superpower, fossil fuels are bringing about our downfall…. The climate crisis isn’t just a crisis of warming, it’s also a crisis of outlook: suicidal status quo vs. fragile future….
The greed that has driven us to this moment at the brink of survivability is pure evil and has not been reigned in by our political leaders….
Turning to public policy, more government please!
Governments have a responsibility to represent people, not fossil fuel corporations. While Trump wants to expand fossil fuels and dismantle legislation that encourages the adoption of renewables, Canada is gearing up for a federal election that’s billed as a referendum on the carbon tax. We cannot accept these agendas of distraction and destruction.
Moving forward we must treat this moment with the urgency of a tipping point for decisive collective action. While the fires raged, it was confirmed that globally we surpassed 1.5 degrees of warming in 2024.
As temperatures continue to rise and tragedy strikes, we need a concrete, binding plan to stop new fossil fuel projects, and to phase out oil, gas and coal for good. 16 countries and 120 subnational governments have committed to developing a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Now is the time to continue building this coalition. [1]I commented:
Wait! I thought California was the Green Energy state? The Electricity state? The DEI state? What gives?
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[1] Sources:
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-09/death-toll-fatalities-los-angeles-wildfires
https://www.sciline.org/climate/climate-change/
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2025/01/the-role-of-climate-change-in-the-catastrophic-2025-los-angeles-fires/
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/11/we-built-our-world-with-fire-now-heat-destroying-our-lives?CMP=share_btn_url
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/09/california-fire-memory
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/10/world-temperature-in-2024-exceeded-15c-for-first-time?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/11/los-angeles-fire-fossil-fuel-big-oil?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
Since the dawn of time, the world has always had its share of nutters and crackpots.
Tzeporah Berman is merely the latest version.