climate change Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Facebook Will Fund Fact-Checkers Fighting ‘Climate Misinformation’

September 18, 2021September 17, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Facebook announced a grant program Thursday to fund fact-checking groups combating the spread of “climate misinformation.”

The program is designed to provide Facebook users with accurate and reliable information on topics related to climate change, such as sea levels and global warming, Facebook announced. The company said it launched the initiative partly in response to an August report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that highlighted the negative impact humans have on the environment.

Commentary: Conservatives Should Not Listen to the Eco-Right

September 16, 2021 RealClearWire

If there’s one thing the Left knows cold, it’s deception. From Vladimir Lenin to Saul Alinsky, leftists are unparalleled masters of the art of victory through hoodwinking: Defeating opponents by fooling them into false agreement.

Owning the battlefield in this war starts with controlling the language. We’ve seen this play out in the debate over abortion access, with pro-choice activists redefining “pro-life” to mean anything but the conviction that life begins at conception—and swindling unwitting Christians into their ranks.

USDA Announces Racial Preferences in New ‘Climate Smart Agriculture’ Funding

September 7, 2021September 6, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

This week’s Golden Horseshoe goes to the USDA for $50 million in “climate smart agriculture” grants the department will award preferentially in the name of “racial equity and justice” to “socially disadvantaged” racial and ethnic classes of farmers and ranchers, as well as to “historically underserved producers.”

Despite a recent court ruling against the department for a race-based loan forgiveness program, the USDA posted notice on Aug. 25 of a funding opportunity for a new program involving such preferences, Conservation Outreach: Racial Equity and Justice Conservation Cooperative Agreements.”

University’s Redesigned Mascot is a Gender-Neutral, Climate-Change-Protesting, Social Justice Warrior

August 30, 2021August 29, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The New School’s mascot, a Narwhal named Gnarls, got a gender-neutral redesign for the Fall 2021 semester, the university reports.

Gnarls backstory includes an “unconventional” upbringing due to “distressing levels of ice loss” that forced the Narwhal’s family out of its Antarctica home.

Commentary: A Green Conundrum for the Golden State

August 25, 2021August 24, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

From left: U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Smokey Bear pose during an event honoring Gov. Schwarzenegger as an honorary Forest Ranger at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. Wed., Oct. 29, 2013. Gov. Schwarzenegger is being honored for his signing and implementing the landmark California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 and continued leadership on climate change since leaving office. USDA photo by Bob Nichols

In 2006, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the landmark AB 32, the “Global Warming Solutions Act.” Determined to leave a legacy that would ensure he remained welcome among the glitterati of Hollywood and Manhattan, Schwarzenegger may not have fully comprehended the forces he unleashed.

Under AB 32, California was required to “reduce its [greenhouse gas] emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.” Now, according to the “scoping plan” updated in 2017, California must “further reduce its GHG emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.”

The problem with such an ambitious plan is that achieving it will preclude ordinary Californians ever enjoying the lifestyle that people living in developed nations have earned and have come to expect. It will condemn Californians to chronic scarcity of energy, with repercussions that remain poorly understood by voters.

Judge Blocks Massive Alaskan Oil Drilling Project Backed by Trump and Biden

August 20, 2021August 19, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A federal judge blocked a massive Alaskan oil drilling project Wednesday after ruling that the Interior Department inadequately measured its environmental impact.

Judge Sharon Gleason of the U.S. District Court of the District of Alaska wrote in her opinion that the Bureau of Land Management’s assessment of the ConocoPhillips’ Willow project was “arbitrary and capricious,” noting that it did not even include the likely level of greenhouse gas emissions in its environmental impact report.

Commentary: Distrust and Verify

August 20, 2021August 20, 2021 RealClearWire

Every member of America’s expert class possessing even a modicum of integrity and self-awareness has long been aware of a simple truth: Only a fool would trust the emanations of America’s leading experts.

Worse, the more prestigious the job title, the less trustworthy the pronouncement. Official experts who speak for the government are the most suspect of all. Worse still, you can’t write off anything they say because a great deal of it is informed and valid.

Commentary: Climate Change Activists Misrepresent Extreme Weather Events

August 18, 2021August 17, 2021 RealClearWire

The Pacific Northwest was hit with a record-shattering heat wave in June, with temperatures over 35 degrees higher than normal in some places. On June 28, Portland, Ore., reached 116 degrees. Late last week the region suffered another blast of hot weather, with a high in Portland of 103 degrees. The New York Times didn’t hesitate to pronounce the region’s bouts of extreme weather proof that the climate wasn’t just changing, but catastrophically so.

To make that claim, the Times relied on a “consortium of climate experts” that calls itself World Weather Attribution, a group organized not just to attribute extreme weather events to climate change, but to do so quickly. Within days of the June heat wave, the researchers released an analysis, declaring that the torrid spell “was virtually impossible without human-caused climate change.”

World Weather Attribution and its alarming report were trumpeted by Time magazine, touted by the NOAA website Climate.gov , and featured by CBS News, CNBC, Scientific American, CNN, the Washington Post, USAToday, and the New York Times, among others.

Kerry’s Private Jet Emitted 30 Times More Carbon in 2021 Than Average Vehicle Does in a Year

August 15, 2021August 14, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The family jet of climate czar John Kerry has emitted 30 times more carbon so far in 2021 than the average vehicle in a year, Fox News reported.

The private jet emitted 138 metric tons of carbon between Jan. 10 and Aug. 6. It took off 20 times, according to flight data Fox News obtained, updating a previous count of 16 flights.

Critics Pan Biden Order Calling for Half of U.S. Vehicle Sales to Be Electric by 2030

August 7, 2021August 6, 2021 The Center Square

A new executive order from the Biden administration has accelerated the timeline for electric vehicles and raised questions about the economic impacts of the transition away from gas-powered vehicles.

President Joe Biden signed the executive order Thursday aimed at making 50% of vehicles zero emission in the U.S. by 2030, an aggressive push toward electric vehicles. About 2% of new cars sold each year in the U.S. are currently electric, according to the Pew Research Center.

“The Executive Order also kicks off development of long-term fuel efficiency and emissions standards to save consumers money, cut pollution, boost public health, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis,” the White House said.

Democrats Planning to Recruit ‘Millions’ for New Civilian Climate Corps

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A group of Democrats is pushing for the creation of a Civilian Climate Corps that could employ “millions” of young people at a minimum of $15 per hour as a way to tackle climate change.

“I was proud to stand alongside Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez this year as we reintroduced the Green New Deal and also brought forward our new Civilian Conservation Corps because that legislation is a pathway to new jobs in our country, union jobs for young people,” Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said during a news conference focused on including the Civilian Climate Corps in the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation bill the Democrats are drafting.

Dozens of Climate Change Agitators Arrested After Storming White House, Blocking Entrances

July 1, 2021June 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Dozens of left-wing activists from a climate change political action group were arrested by Secret Service agents on Monday after they marched to the White House and blocked entrances as part of a #NoClimateNoDeal protest. Agitators from the far-left, Soros-funded Sunrise Movement were reportedly demanding that Joe Biden stop negotiating with Republican politicians, meet with Sunrise executive director Varshini Prakash, and include a fully funded “Civilian Climate Corps” in the infrastructure bill.

Minnesota Professor Objects to Classic Children’s Books Because They Don’t Address Climate Change

July 1, 2021June 30, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

A Minnesota professor recently debated in an editorial published by The New York Times whether it is “fair” to read his daughter classic children’s books because they are set in a natural world that is now “vanishing.”

Paul Bogard, an associate professor of English at Hamline University in St. Paul, wrote in a recent opinion piece, “The wild world my favorite books had encouraged me to love has been under assault.”

The books he refers to are “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Swimmy,” “The Story of Babar,” “A Snowy Day,” and “Make Way for Ducklings.”

University to Teach How to Address Social Justice Using Math Modeling

June 29, 2021June 28, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Kettering University announced a new “Math for Social Justice” elective will address climate change, human trafficking, elections and racial justice causes through math modeling.

The course aims to teach students how to use statistics and data to address various social justice-related topics.

Commentary: Biden’s Fake Climate Apocalypse Has Real Consequences

March 29, 2021March 28, 2021 Admin

With the wave of executive orders and legislation coming from the Biden administration, and the cultural antics of his woke supporters, Biden’s war on fossil fuels has received insufficient attention. Yet energy is the lifeblood of our economy, and making traditional energy sources vastly more expensive is the single most destructive aspect of Biden’s policies. If this country does not successfully mobilize against these policies, the vast majority will experience a dramatic drop in their standard of living.

Supposedly the assault on fossil fuels — via regulation; cancellation of pipelines; concocting a huge, wholly imaginary “social cost of carbon”; taxes; and solar and wind mandates — is necessary to save the planet from imminent catastrophe produced by man-made global warming.

Bezos to Spend $10 Billion by 2030 on Climate Change

March 15, 2021March 14, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who announced plans to step down as Amazon’s CEO last month to focus on philanthropic and science interests, is set to spend the $10 billion he invested in the Bezos Earth Fund by 2030, the Associated Press reported.

Bezos announced the fund in February 2020, but he offered few details on how exactly the money would be distributed. Andrew Steer, who for eight years has been the head of the environmental nonprofit World Resources Institute (WRI), will be the fund’s CEO.

In a series of tweets, Steer revealed very few details, however he did say Bezos’ “goal is to spend it down between now and 2030.”

Commentary: Climate Change Activists Try to Nix Natural Gas Exports

March 12, 2021March 11, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Domestic climate debates are clouding our reasoning on energy exports. The latest example of this problem is the climate movement’s vocal opposition to a proposal from Sempra, a San Diego–based energy infrastructure company, to send natural gas to Mexico for re-export in its liquefied form (LNG).

Commentary: What to Make of the Biden Climate Barrage

February 1, 2021January 31, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Sleepy no more, President Joe Biden has taken to the Oval Office with gusto. On Wednesday, he resumed a climate policy blitz that has already included rejoining the Paris Agreement and deep-sixing the Keystone XL pipeline with an “Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.”

Among the banner proclamations from the Wednesday order are that Biden will pause the leasing of federal land to oil and gas companies, seal off 30 percent of federal land from development altogether, create a National Climate Task Force to wage “government-wide” battle on climate change, and require of the intelligence services a National Intelligence Estimate on the security impacts of climate change.

Biden Administration Considering Allocating COVID-19 Funds to Climate Change Programs

January 27, 2021January 26, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Biden administration is considering authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to allocate COVID-19 funding for climate change projects, The New York Times reported Monday.

The plan would reallocate part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) overall disaster budget to projects designed to preemptively address damage from climate disasters, The Times reported. The agency wants to build seawalls and elevate or relocate homes in flood planes with the reallocated funds.

Commentary: The Keystone Cancellation and Biden’s Climate Cronyism

January 24, 2021January 23, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Among many executive actions signed on Inauguration Day to sweep Trump policies out the door along with the man himself, President Biden rescinded approval for the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Keystone XL, according to Biden’s top climate policy adviser Gina McCarthy, “was not consistent with addressing the climate crisis to the depth and scope that we are planning to address it.”

Keystone XL has now played the role of political football for a full decade, and Americans can be forgiven for having forgotten the project’s details.

Commentary: The Social Media Purge Exposes Net Neutrality’s True Goal

January 19, 2021January 18, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

For nearly two decades, Silicon Valley made net neutrality its highest policy priority. Under the banner of a “free and open” internet, Google, Facebook, and Twitter sought regulations to ensure the uninterrupted flow of information by treating every bit equally. Or so they said.

Beginning last Friday night, these firms and others executed an unprecedented digital purge of the social media and video accounts of their political rivals. After several years of accelerating suspensions and suppressions, this time YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter permanently banned a number of high-profile conservatives and deplatformed thousands of others, at least temporarily. Many of these accounts had nothing to do with last Wednesday’s heinous events at the Capitol. Yet their histories are erased.

New House Rules Carve-Out for ‘Climate Change’ Bills Exempted from Requiring Projected Price Tag

January 5, 2021January 4, 2021 Admin

House Democrats blocked a Republican attempt on Monday to require any proposed climate change legislation to also include its projected cost.

Under the Pay As You Go (PAYGO) rule, any additional government spending proposed must be accompanied by tax increases or separate cuts. After a push from several lawmakers in the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, however, the rules package for the 117th Congress states PAYGO will not apply to legislation relating to the necessary economic recovery or U.S. efforts to combat climate change.

Social Justice Favorites Including LGBT+, Climate Change Take a Prominent Role in the New Draft of Social Studies Standards in Minnesota

December 29, 2020December 28, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Minnesota’s newly proposed social studies standards for public schools place significant emphasis on race, gender, climate change and LGBT issues.

Under the first draft of the proposed standards, students will be asked to “develop a respectful awareness about how ideas and norms about gender have changed over time,” accept that “some forms of slavery continued even after emancipation” and learn how the “fight for social justice” continues today.

Students will also be asked to “analyze how resistance movements in the U.S. have organized and responded to oppression,” and “imagine and work toward an equitable and caring future” in keeping with the social justice model.

U.S. Officially Withdraws from Paris Agreement on Climate Change

November 5, 2020November 4, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The U.S. officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement on climate change Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

The 2015 agreement was ratified by 189 countries and six more have signed, but have yet to ratify, the AP reported. President Donald Trump sparked criticism and support after announcing the U.S’s withdrawal in 2017, according to another AP report.

Commentary: The Unelected Tyrants Who Burned Down the Golden State

November 2, 2020November 1, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

If this seems like an unfair title, it isn’t, though some of these tyrants were appointed by elected politicians. And all of these tyrants rely on laws that were passed by elected politicians. But while there is plenty of blame to go around, tyranny is what Californians have endured. A tyrannical system is entirely to blame for apocalyptic fires that are wiping out California’s forests, fouling the air, and killing everything in their path.

So who are these unelected tyrants?

Commentary: Three Inconvenient Truths 60 Minutes Forgot to Mention in Its Story on California Wildfires and Climate Change

October 8, 2020October 7, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

CBS journalist Scott Pelley recently visited Butte County, California, to report on the wildfires devastating the Golden State.

Government statistics show that more than 8,300 wildfires have burned some 4 million acres to date. The flames have claimed 31 lives and destroyed nearly 8,700 structures. One of those structures belonged to Fire Station 61 Chief Reed Rankin, who saw his home reduced to a charred skeleton after a September blaze.

Commentary: Environmentalists Destroyed California’s Forests

September 11, 2020September 10, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Millions of acres of California forest have been blackened by wildfires this summer, leading to the usual angry denunciations from the usual quarters about climate change. But in 1999, the Associated Press reported that forestry experts had long agreed that “clearing undergrowth would save trees,” and that “years of aggressive firefighting have allowed brush to flourish that would have been cleared away by wildfires.” But very little was done. And now fires of unprecedented size are raging across the Western United States.

REVIEW: ‘Apocalypse Never’ Takes Direct Aim at ‘Consensus’ of Climate Alarmism

August 11, 2020August 10, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

An important new book by Michael Shellenberger, Apocalypse Never: Why Environmental Alarmism Hurts Us All, attempts to counter the common belief that climate change poses an imminent and existential threat to humanity and the planet. At 285 pages, this is a relatively short and very readable book, but it covers a lot of ground. And with an additional 125 pages containing over 1,000 footnotes, Shellenberger’s arguments are well documented.

Biden Plans to Spend $2 Trillion on Climate Change if Elected

July 16, 2020July 15, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden announced Tuesday a $2 trillion budget to combat climate change reform and create jobs, according to The New York Times.

Biden said during his campaign speech in Delaware the $2 trillion budget will be spent in four years to create jobs while increasing clean energy use in the transportation, electricity and building industries, according to the Times. Biden plans to have an “emissions-free power sector” by 2035.

Commentary: No, Antarctica Is Not ‘Rapidly Melting’

May 3, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The BBC, which in September 2018 announced its decision to censor any reports by climate skeptics, continues to propagandize for climate alarmists. On March 12, BBC “Science Correspondent” Jonathan Amos published an alarming article entitled “Greenland and Antarctica ice loss accelerating.” According to Amos, “Earth’s great ice sheets, Greenland and Antarctica, are now losing mass six times faster than they were in the 1990s thanks to warming conditions.”

Climate Activists Want Michael Moore’s Doc Panning Green Energy Banned, Say It’s Chock Full of ‘Misinformation’

April 27, 2020April 26, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Anti-fossil fuel activists unsuccessfully attempted to browbeat the film producer behind a new Michael Moore documentary panning green energy into permanently removing the movie over claims that it contains pro-oil industry misinformation.

Activist Josh Fox, climate scientist Michael Mann, and other environmentalists signed onto a petition Friday asking the producer to take down Planet of Humans, claiming Moore’s film relies on old data to claim solar and wind energy is dependent on fossil fuels. Films for Action initially nixed the film before putting it back online, saying the move was meant to engage in debate.

Analysis: Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s Pitch for the Green New Deal Is Unhinged From Reality

March 5, 2020March 4, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently gave an impassioned pitch for her “Green New Deal” on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives. After stating that her opponents were misrepresenting the legislation, she read the full text of it into the Congressional Record and claimed that the reason it is “so, so controversial” is “because for years we have prioritized the pursuit of profit at any and all human and environmental cost.”

YouTube Star Asks Her Fellow Teenagers to ‘Think’ Before Jumping Aboard Greta Thunberg’s ‘Alarmism’

March 2, 2020March 1, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

An up-and-coming YouTube star is setting herself up as the antithesis of everything that activist Greta Thunberg represents: a teenager who is asking youngsters to think before jumping into “climate alarmism.”

House DFL Wants to Use $190 Million of Budget Surplus for Climate Change Initiatives

February 23, 2020February 22, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

House DFLers announced a package of one-time appropriations last week totaling more than $190 million for “solutions that address the climate crisis.”

Commentary: The GOP’s Silly ‘Carbon Capture’ Dodge

February 17, 2020February 16, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

House Minority leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-23) is releasing a climate bill this week. The purpose is “to put the GOP on the map on climate” in response to polls reporting that enough young voters have finally succumbed to a lifetime of being propagandized on climate.

Minnesota House Democrats Say They Will Prioritize Gun Control and Climate Change in 2020

February 7, 2020February 11, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

Minnesota House Democrats said they will once again prioritize gun control and climate change during the upcoming legislative session.

Green New Deal Supporters Sanders and Warren Turn to Private Planes for Iowa Campaign

January 29, 2020January 28, 2020 Jordyn Pair

Despite voicing increased concerns over climate change, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) are turning to private planes to aid tight schedules amid President Trump’s impeachment hearing.

Conservative Research Fellow Challenges Walz to Consider ‘Dissenting’ Voices on Climate Change

January 21, 2020January 20, 2020 Anthony Gockowski

A conservative policy fellow with the Center of the American Experiment applied for Gov. Tim Walz’s “Advisory Council on Climate Change,” which promised to “represent different perspectives and experiences.”

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Deals Brutal Blow to Teens Who Sued Trump Over Climate Change

January 18, 2020January 17, 2020 Admin

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California ruled Friday that children do not have standing to sue the Trump administration and the federal government for not adequately addressing climate change.

Australian Police Charge at Least 20 People for Intentionally Setting Bushfires, Activists Blame Climate Change

January 8, 2020January 7, 2020 Admin

New South Wales police charged more than 20 people for deliberately starting fires across Australia as the country beats back wildfires. Activists and celebrities said climate change played a part in the blaze.

Greta Thunberg’s Dad Worries About ‘All the Hate’ Aimed at Her

January 6, 2020January 5, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

Speaking to a BBC Radio Programme, of which his daughter Greta is guest-editor today, Svante Thunberg said the 16-year-old had become “very happy” as a result of her climate activist work despite facing regular abuse from people who “don’t want to change” their lifestyles and he worries about all the “hate” she faces. Ironically the BBC flew presenter Mishal Husain to Stockholm to interview the teenager and her dad, New York Post reports.

Senate DFL Launches New ‘Climate Caucus’ to Push Walz’s Climate Agenda Through Senate

December 15, 2019December 14, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

DFL members of the Minnesota Senate announced the formation of a new “Senate DFL Clean Energy and Climate Caucus” last week.

Minneapolis City Council: Failure to Act on Climate Change ‘Antithetical’ to the Declaration of Independence

December 4, 2019December 4, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

A Minneapolis City Council committee passed a resolution Monday to declare that “there is a climate emergency which demands a massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse, and address its consequences.”

Gov. Walz Signs Executive Order Establishing ‘Climate Change Subcabinet’

December 3, 2019December 2, 2019 Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order Monday that establishes a new “Climate Change Subcabinet” in addition to a “Governor’s Advisory Council on Climate Change.”

Commentary: Rotary Takes a Hard Left Turn on Climate Change

December 2, 2019December 1, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

When I joined Rotary in 2014, one of the most important guides I was given by the members is that Rotary is not political. Although I’ve been involved in local politics for many years, I really have enjoyed putting politics aside and working with other Rotarians of all stripes to help those less fortunate locally and internationally.

Commentary: An Unexpected Climate Hero is Equity Markets

December 1, 2019November 30, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

Joesph Stalin allegedly said that the “death of one person is a tragedy; the death of one million is a statistic.” Fitting neatly with his horrendous ideology, our brains are simply not equipped to understand suffering of astonishing proportions – for a single person suffering we feel empathy; with millions we blink cluelessly before looking away, dumbfounded.

Commentary: The Politics, Science, and Politicized Science of Climate Change

November 30, 2019November 29, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

One has to wonder if the shock and despair described in David Bowie’s 1971 hit, “Five Years,” would be the preferred collective mentality for humanity, at least if the relentless propaganda campaigns of climate change activists are successful. And one must admit they have powerful allies at their disposal. A climate alarm consensus informs America’s entire educational, entertainment, and media establishments, along with most corporate marketing, and most political platforms from the local city council to the United Nations.