Monday, November 26, 2018

Science Deniers Gain New Member: He Failed Science in H/S and Now Failing the Country

Trump reads his fav bedtime storybook to new generation

Nation’s Dirty Dozen minus one – not movie version
(Who is next?)


WASHINGTON (November 26 – Reuters) – President Trump now says that he had read parts of a latest government report projecting that climate change will cost the country's economy billions of dollars by the end of the century. But, he does not believe the economic impacts will be devastating saying to reporters at the White House and when asked about the severe economic impact, Trump responded: “I've seen it, I've read some of it, and it's fine. I don't believe it.”

Recall that last year, Trump announced he would withdraw from the 2015 Paris Accord: The deal and plan to combat climate change. He has also rolled back Obama-era environmental and climate protections to boost production of domestic fossil fuels.

This Congressional mandated report, written with the help of more than a dozen government agencies and departments says the effects of climate change would: (1) undermine human health, (2) damage infrastructure, (3) limit water availability, (4) alter coastlines, and (5) increase costs in various industries.

The report also says projections of damage could change if greenhouse gas emissions were curbed, although many of the impacts of climate change, like powerful storms, droughts and flooding, have already begun.

PREVIOUS POSTS ON THIS SAME SUBJECT:

Climate change due to human damage to it, and Trump appoints like-minded people who apparently don’t give a damn about the future – case in point from this article in part at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Background on Trump team “science deniers” or flat-out science haters:  Those still in office or who have been booted out like Greg Pruitt formerly at the EPA. Here are five people still in office or who were in office who spearheaded our government who think in a negative way about climate change. Seems they believe they know better than all of the world’s main scientific institutions and experts:

#1: There is Trump himself who famously tweeted that climate change was a hoax invented by the Chinese, and said that a cold snap in the weather overturns a century or more of scientific inquiry.

#2: Then there’s Energy Secretary Rick “oops” Perry, whose fuzzy logic on the science sees him unconvinced that CO2 is the key driver of climate change.

#3: Then there’s Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior (now under serious investigation by the DOJ, who is similarly confused and non-committal about the impacts of burning fossil fuels.

#4: Then there is Andrew Wheeler who took Pruitt’s position. His views and Zinke’s are in total sync.

#5: There there’s Ben Carson HUD Secretary who said in 2015 that climate change was irrelevant and that temperatures were driven by natural cycles. Since then, he has avoided questions about the role of human activity in climate change.


TRUMP ACTIONS IN ADDITION TO THE CITED UPDATE:

Ref: Trump replaced Obama's Clean Power Plan with weaker Greenhouse gas rules for power plants – Obama plan key parts: 
Established the first nationwide rules for carbon emissions and set emissions goals for each state and gave them many options to reduce climate pollution, with the goal of cutting the nation's emissions by 32 percent below 2005 levels.

Trump touted his replacement for the Clean Power Plan at a rally in West Virginia (August 21, 2018) evening. Politico first reported the broad outline and then the New York Times and the Washington Post reported more details on the Trump plan.

I Note: WV in the heart of coal country with lots of Trump voters for 2018 and 2020 and of course more RED state based PR and then expected fat PAC checks from the coal and less-than-clean-air industry, too. Just wait and see.

Impact if this Change in Direction is Approved: The new plan does not set a hard goal for nationwide emissions reductions. It is projected to allow 12 times more greenhouse gas to be emitted over the next decade than under the Clean Power Plan.

What is Greenhouse gas – here is a short 3-minute video on that:



My 2 cents: More and more so we see what Trump’s three-throng attack on science and decency in public policy truly is:

(1) Due to his age and such, he does care about any damage to clean air since he would be gone when the irreversible damage hits and takes away decent, clean, and healthy air, that BTW, Mr. Trump, every living thing needs to, you know, breathe clear air to live. 

(2) This is another nail in the coffin of anything Obama (Trump’s #1 arch enemy). 

(3) Trump simply hates anything to do science of any kind – he was a mentor or student of Greg Pruitt after all you know.

Only one thing applies here – the public must stand up and say no all ways possible, and this “we don’t care what Trump does” attitude from this all GOP-run Congress should get off their collective asses and stop this man and his madness – for surely this move is utterly insane now more so as the Reuters report says above.

So, what is Trump’s aim? What is he truly trying to do?

Seems he wants a world just for him and his family in an air-tight safe underground bunker someplace – then do what?

Trump may not give a damn about the future, other than for himself and another building project, but a whole lot of people think about the future, our kids, grand kids, and generations yet unborn.

Imagine if those at the turn of the 20th Century or before during the Industrial Revolution when industry took off and the those living at that time had the same selfish attitude like Trump today – where would we and the developed world be?

Well, Trump wouldn’t be here and neither would the country or world for that matter. All in all, this is an awfully sick move on Trump’s part. But, he is stuck in his mindset just like hundreds of others – he is not apt to change – ever (unless change would benefit him financially).

Thanks for stopping by.

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