In discussions of public policy, Americans see the same destructive cycle again and again. Democrats talk loudly about inequity and crisis and declare we must all run headlong into an expedient solution — their solution. But upon further review, we routinely discover that liberals want to put a band-aid on a festering wound. Democrats’ cure ends up making the problem far worse.
So it goes with our precious environment. Democrats have raised their voices sharply, drowned out dissenting opinions and are rushing to save the planet from climate change. Although the science is far from settled, Democrat “solutions” are now devastating the environment in the U.S.
Take, for example, a recent letter sent to the U.N. by 500 European scientists stating that liberal climate policy is doing more harm than good. The letter contends that there is no “climate emergency” exists and that impetuous “climate policy relies upon immature models.” That’s a nice way of saying, ‘you don’t know what you are doing.’ Among the five other key points the letter makes is that:
- Carbon dioxide is plant food, the basis of all life on Earth
- Global warming has not increased natural disasters
- Climate policy must respect scientific and economic realities
It’s important to keep in mind these are not political activists. They are scientists who see that the negative impacts of liberal climate policies have a profoundly negative impact on people and the planet. Liberal Penn State climatologist Michael E. Mann summed up the Democrat response who choose to ignore scientists that disagree, “Not even Voldemort would sign his name to something so craven and stupid.”
On the home front, Democrats quietly tweaked environmental policy during the Obama years that fast-tracked solar projects. But like so many of the left’s policy initiatives, it is killing the environment. According to Massachusetts’ far-left media outlet WGBH, “the state Department of Energy Resources estimates that approximately 2,500 acres of trees — equal to the size of 50 Boston Commons — have been cut down to put up solar panels in the last 10 to 15 years.”
Massachusetts residents are getting a first-hand look at the massive deforestation that is part and parcel of Democrats’ policy plan to combat climate change.
“Imagine cutting down all these trees,” Massachusetts resident Barbra Stringer said. “I’m all in favor of all alternative measures of energy. But there’s a right and wrong place for it. And I just feel this is not the appropriate spot.”
And that’s a prevalent attitude among liberal Democrats. They want to save the world, just not in their backyard. It wasn’t too many years ago that Democrats were all-in with Republicans on designating protected green spaces to ensure healthy forests and wildlife. But the climate cult attitude now has the far-left excusing clear-cutting without replanting.
“We are very heavily forested in Massachusetts,” Renewable and Alternative Energy Division official Michael Judge said. “I think it’s something like 60 to 70 percent of our land is covered by forests. So, when you start trying to site projects for solar, you’re going to find that a lot of those products are going to end up in forested or partially forested areas.”
It’s dumfounding to listen to liberals shrug off deforestation and wildlife habitat loss. Conservative Americans may ask: Aren’t these the same people who refuse to clear-cut swaths in California to prevent massive wildfires? They are, sort of. In the elitist-educated state of Massachusetts, the “smart people” do the math on deforestation.
MIT co-director of global change policy, John Reilly, did just those calculations. He reportedly determined that clear-cutting 2.5 acres of pristine forest for solar panels would get back the carbon stored in that forest in 46 days.
“There is a carbon loss from the trees, but it’s made up fairly quickly,” Reilly explained. “You’re going to operate that solar panel for 20 years.”
The MIT scientist fails to comprehend that Democrat-led solar policy is causing nationwide deforestation and habitat loss. To the everyday person, it sounds ridiculous that there is some “net positive” to clear-cutting vibrant forests and putting up fields of metal. However, liberal Democrats are actually excited about the prospect. In fact, floating math calculations has become a marketing scam for corporations in predominately Democrat states.
In Democrat-held New Jersey, Six Flags Great Adventure leveraged solar policy. The amusement franchise proudly touted that it would be eradicating 40-66 acres of natural forests to create a metal solar field to power the rides.
“We are excited about the fact that this project will reduce carbon emissions by 31 times more than the trees and shrubs that will be removed, and that we will become the world’s first solar-powered theme park,” Six Flags communication manager Kristin Siebeneicher reportedly said.
Americans are seeing farmland and previously protected forests destroyed due to radical climate policies. It would be easy to scream loudly back at Democrats who repeatedly implement short-sighted policies that have horrific long-term consequences. A better strategy would be to vote them out of majorities in 2020.
