Column: California wildfires to Florida hurricanes, how the rich game climate change
In the wake of the recent fires in California, many environmentalists have criticized President Trump for his seeming inaction on the climate crisis.
But there is another story that goes much deeper than this one of an administration “not taking the problem seriously.”
In fact, President Trump has made an entire industry of climate change denial.
As the president and his team have turned to a form of energy economics that is more than a little different from the conventional wisdom, they have created an entire industry of climate deniers.
In his campaign, Trump said climate science was a hoax created by the United Nation’s Paris Climate Treaty. In his State of the Union address, President Trump said he wanted to cut climate-related regulations by 90 percent.
But the truth is, Trump has done exactly nothing in the face of the climate crisis. The real story is this: Trump’s administration is undermining the very foundations of science and economics that are necessary for the public to understand how to solve climate change—and for all of us to deal with the devastating effects that this crisis poses to our planet.
This story is one that many climate change advocates, including me, have known for a while, even before Donald Trump entered the White House.
What is more, this story is what really explains why there is now a climate crisis that the president seems to see as a hoax.
It also explains what makes Trump’s failure of leadership so alarming. Trump’s climate record makes it clear that he has abdicated his obligation to lead, and to use the power of the government to take the kind of action needed to address the climate crisis.
Of course, the story that is now emerging from the flames in California is much more complicated. But I think we can begin to untangle what may lie behind this whole debacle.
In my opinion, it is important to understand the role played by this entire industry of climate denial.
This industry, at its heart, is a response to the economic and environmental realities that, I think, we should all be asking ourselves the next time we make this argument:
What is more, what is the role of economic growth for the sustainability of the planet?
