Has it ever bothered you that the United States, the leader in reducing carbon emissions since the 2017 Climate Change conference (thank you, natural gas!) is taking outrageously expensive steps in the name of climate change, which would reduce our quality of life while China builds two coal plants per week?

It is important to remember that climate change is still more theory than fact and unprovable at this point in time. When weather forecasting still cannot pinpoint the weather days or weeks away how could it be anything else?

It does not matter whether 90% of meteorologists or climatologists believe in climate change. Ninety percent of the world believed the Earth was flat and 90% of researchers only get federal grants if their research mentions climate change. Scientific theory is fluid, though the main stream will fight to prevent alternative theories from breaking through. Those who differ from the common wisdom will be called heretics or deniers, until their theories prove out. This is especially true today when 95% of the media speaks with one opinion (polls show that both Democrats and Republicans believe the media is biased). Alternative opinions are shouted down or silenced with censorship.

The media (as it did with COVID where a substantial amount of their ad revenue came from the pharmaceutical industry) has jumped on one side of the climate issue and you know how that turned out with the pandemic. Every time there is a weather event or a national disaster, the clamor is to remember that this is caused by climate change. I ask you, could their science be very solid if they feel the need to hawk climate change constantly? Bjorn Lomborg, a scientist who believes that climate change is real, calls this “weather porn,” which is done to raise the public’s fear level and ultimately government action to slow the growth of fossil fuels and to subsidize more and more green energy. Both of these objectives, when linked, as they were in the Inflation Reduction Act, eventually slow the growth of the economy, costing millions of jobs, lower farm output as our fertilizers are fossil fuel based, and weaken US security since at least 80% of green energy minerals and products come from China.

Economic harm has already happened in Germany. The green movement influenced the government to shut down its nuclear reactors (zero carbon emissions?) and leave their gas power plants, heavily dependent on Russia. Then war broke out in Ukraine and the gas line was sabotaged. The Germans were forced to reopen their coal plants. In addition, much of German industry has had to move to eastern Europe because electric rates have skyrocketed. And now Germany and Europe are heading into recession.

We all want as clean an environment as possible, but let’s not let a theory cause us to rush into ill-advised policies that have much more predictable negative outcomes on the nation, our economy, and our families than climate change itself.

Steven Landin

Newtown