Maybe the rightwing crazies have a point. Maybe global warming is part of a vast leftwing conspiracy to stop us from funding terrorist states to the tune of $1 trillion a year through oil imports; maybe the real agenda is to reduce our use of coal, thereby decreasing the severe air pollution that kills thousands every year, despoils the American landscape, and provides some of the most dangerous employment in the nation; maybe it’s a way for the liberal media, which wants America to fail, to divert our attention from the fact that China is now the leading producer of solar panels; maybe those big-government fanatics just want the American economy to become more efficient so that they can have more money for their radical agenda, like making education more affordable and providing universal healthcare.
As the evidence mounts that global warming is accelerating at an alarming pace, it is equally evident that progressives have done a terrible job of getting people to care. Rarely does a month go by without polls showing climate change near the bottom of the list of people’s concerns.
The problem might rest with the terms themselves: neither global warming nor climate change conveys any sense of urgency.
But it goes deeper than that. Despite incredible weather events now and then, the whole idea of global warming is simply too abstract and long-term. And the solutions are presented in the worst possible ways, either dry and academic (e.g., cap and trade) or in terms which immediately evoke negative reactions (e.g., a carbon tax).
It’s a shame, because there are so many better ways to convince people to do the right things. They’re intuitive, and they require no complex scientific knowledge, no PowerPoint presentations, and no fancy charts. Here are some of them:
#1: Gas guzzlers are the best friends of terrorists and Middle East dictators
We have fought two wars in Iraq and are deeply engaged in the Middle East largely (though not exclusively) because of the region’s oil deposits; and the dictators and rogue regimes that dominate the area exist because of the petrodollars our oil imports give them. It should incense Americans that we have to pay homage to the Saudi Royal Family, which is one of the most medieval, reactionary, and despicable regimes in the world (one in which women can’t even walk alone or own a driver’s license). That a single dollar of our money goes to these despots, or makes its way to the Iranian mullahs, should be an affront to our sense of decency. Yet every time we fill up, some of that money ends up in the pockets of people who hate our values and want to kill us. That should be enough to seal the deal on reducing our oil consumption. It should be talking point #1, repeated over and over again at every opportunity.
#2: If you don’t believe we can do better than coal, you don’t believe in America
Coal is cheap and abundant, but it’s just about the dirtiest fuel out there. It causes extreme air pollution, and just getting it out of the mountains destroys them and the surrounding landscapes. Coal mining is an 18th century technology that has carried us into the 21st century, but it’s time has passed. What jobs would be better for Americans, coal mining or building and installing wind turbines and solar panels? It’s that simple. If we can get our energy without polluting the air and water and blowing up mountains, why wouldn’t we do that? And how on earth did we let the Chinese beat us at making solar panels? We should view it as a national disgrace that a Communist government is beating is at green technology (and Americans love a good challenge, especially against an economic rival).
#3: Wasting energy is for suckers
A recent report by McKinsey and Company estimates that energy efficiency improvements in the U.S. could save us $1.2 trillion. Letting the status quo continue is like throwing money down a rat hole; it is simply stupid. Retrofitting U.S. infrastructure would employ millions of workers in good jobs and end up saving us all money. What’s not to like?
The bottom line: if global warming was a hoax (which it isn’t), so what? There are clear, inarguable reasons for doing everything in our power to reduce our use of fossil fuels and take the lead in the green energy revolution.
And as a bonus we might also help to reduce climate change and ensure a reasonably hospitable planet for generations to come.
Not bad for a leftwing conspiracy.
Jason Scorse