I believe in being a good environmental steward in order to have clean air and water, but I think the climate change agenda is a hoax. In the 1970s, many climatologists were worried about global cooling. In the 1980s this shifted to warming through the greenhouse effect, followed by the term Global Warming. Finally, after all the climate models of the previous decades were proven inadequate, the nebulous, can-mean-anything term of Climate Change became popular. Now, you can see the latest pivot to terminology such as Climate Justice or Energy Security. Regardless of terminology, the story is basically the same. Humans are causing irreparable catastrophic damage to the planet, and unless behaviors are changed, everything will immediately spiral out of control, leading to mass death and destruction.
John Kerry, Biden’s climate czar, uses the tactic of fear porn. In 2009 he said the sea ice in the Arctic was rapidly melting away and would be gone by 2014 unless action was taken. Al Gore presented graphs and charts of carbon emissions in his 2006 movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” that terrified viewers, warning of catastrophic consequences if drastic measures were not taken. Al Gore’s predictions were known to be bogus years ago, but keeping the fear of impending doom alive works well for him. By the way, one of Gore’s central emotional pleas was the decline of the world’s polar bear population. In reality, the world’s population of polar bears has tripled since 1960.
The Grand Haven Sustainability and Energy Commission (SEC) is a local body that appears to be comprised of true believers in the fear porn that has been presented to them, as well as others who seek financial gain through participating in the schemes. They strive to influence the creation of local ordinances and policies that will force residents to make drastic changes in their behaviors, and fund initiatives to improve conditions, supposedly reducing carbon emissions, and saving the environment. I cannot help but think the actions of the SEC will also enrich those developing and implementing the plans.
During the July 15, 2024, council meeting, John Kinch, active member of the SEC and winner of a $100,000 SEC contract to develop a community energy plan, mentioned that the SEC looks to organizations such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Michigan Green Communities (MGC) for direction. The SEC is also aligning their strategies to Governor Whitmer’s Michigan Healthy Climate plan passed in 2023, and considering carbon offsets like the City of Holland.
NREL is a division of the US Department of Energy. According to their website, they are “Transforming the way the nation and the world use energy.” An Institute for Economics and Peace document linked on the NREL website states, “Over one billion people [are] at threat of being displaced by 2050 due to environmental change, conflict and civil unrest.” NREL also has a Net Zero initiative that uses the feel-good slogan of “energy justice,” and promises humanity will survive if people can just eliminate carbon emissions.
In addition to its energy initiatives, “NREL aspires to be a world-class leader in workforce diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility by creating and maintaining a culture of respect, caring, and belonging.” NREL has even created their own diversity video featuring brown and black people happily working together. Additionally, NREL proudly posts their employee demographic data on their website.
“Michigan Green Communities is a statewide network of local government staff and officials that collaborate with one another, through peer learning and information sharing, to promote innovative sustainability solutions at the local, regional, and state level.” As an action item for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, MGC suggests communities “adopt policies and/or ordinances that support renewable energy projects on private property (e.g., solar/wind ordinance, renewable energy overlay zones, expedited permitting).” To Improve Health Outcomes, MGC suggests, communities “Adopt a community wide anti-idling policy.”
The SEC is challenging itself to obtain MGC awards. According to SEC meeting minutes, last year the City of Grand Haven earned gold certification.” Now they are striving to achieve platinum certification which involves reducing community greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the percentage of renewable energy, reducing water usage, increasing the number of electric vehicles, and meeting the community’s tree cover goals.
These initiatives are being led by individuals such as the two BLP board members who demonstrated a lack of understanding of basic power industry principles, mistakenly believing that increasing the number of electric vehicles will reduce electricity demands on the grid. The climate justice agenda is being pushed by federal and state governments and agencies, as well as world leaders and nonprofits who stand to benefit. They have created mass confusion among the population by continually presenting propaganda as fact. Many scientists over the years have spoken out about the inadequacy of climate models to predict and describe environmental and climate reality, but it has been very difficult for them to position climate truth in front of climate politics. However, the scientific community as a whole still prefers rigorous data analysis to political whim, and in August of 2023, a total of 1,609 scientists from around the world stepped forward and signed the World Climate Declaration, which simply states “There Is No Climate Emergency”.
Just as the windmill in the book Animal Farm symbolized the tyrannical theft of the collective effort of the animals, climate change initiatives are designed to keep citizens confused and busy while politicians use taxation and grants to build an infrastructure that will enrich themselves and their friends at the taxpayer’s expense.