Disaster? NYT Op-Ed on Demoting the Climate Pitch

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 14, 2026

“These are very interesting times–and at the New York Times. The climate writers and editors are daring to ask or allow hard questions about a politically losing narrative. It’s a start.”

The New York Times op-ed, “Democrats Don’t Have to Campaign on Climate Change Anymore” (May 9, 2026) is yet another marker that the debate is widening over the economic and political feasibility of climate alarm and forced energy transformation. [1] Matthew Huber wrote:

For the past several months, Democratic elites have been debating how much to talk about climate change, if at all — in part because these new candidates have narrowed their focus to energy affordability to win back the working class. It is a striking shift from a few years ago, when many Democratic politicians thought the promise of a Green New Deal would build a coalition based on green jobs and fighting inequality.

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Left Progressives Cool It on Green New Deal (Progressive Policy Institute)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 13, 2026

“… the Green New Deal seems to have fallen to earth, borne down by the inexorable gravity of economic and political reality. Therein lies a cautionary tale for Democrats about the gulf that separates elite and popular opinion on climate change.”

“The Green New Deal’s bellyflop is no tragedy. It liberates Democrats to set aside utopian climate remedies and put U.S. energy policy on a more realistic and politically sustainable track.”

It did not begin with this week’s New York Times op-ed by Matthew Huber, “Democrats Don’t Have to Campaign on Climate Change Anymore.” Earlier this year in “The Green New Deal Crashes to Earth,” Will Marshall, founder and president of the “radically pragmatic” Progressive Policy Institute, called for a go-slow climate and energy policy.

But if the world is “on fire,” and “tipping points” are being reached or exceeded, Marshall’s message must be more than confusing.…

U.S. Fossil Fuel Environmentalism: EPA Air Quality Statistics

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- May 8, 2026

A tweet from the Institute for Energy Research (IER) shared the latest from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, with the comment:

From 1970 to 2023, U.S. emissions of six criteria air pollutants declined 78% while GDP grew 321% and energy consumption rose 42%—consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve and driven by wealth creation and market incentives rather than central planning.

This progress can be traced back to 1970:

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[1] The 1970 Clean Air Act required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for common pollutants, known as criteria pollutants, to protect public health. The original list of six, finalized by 1971, are Carbon Monoxide; Lead; Nitrogen Dioxide; Ozone; Particulate Matter; Sulfur Dioxide.…