Put aside, if you can, the barrage of lies and misinformation, the clown parade of federal appointees, the blatant graft, bribery and corruption, the trampling of voting rights, the dynamiting of our democracy. Ignore, if you can, the profoundly amoral, narcissistic, unhinged character of Donald Trump, and his history as a con man.
Trump’s claim that “Climate change is a hoax”, in the face of unanimous scientific evidence and opinion, is like unplugging the smoke alarm because you don’t like the sound. The flames will keep licking at the door, whether you acknowledge them or not. Let’s call Trump’s Climate Change Lie what it is: nothing less than a direct attack on the future of humanity.
By pretending climate change doesn’t exist, we’re essentially writing a blank check to disaster, payable to the order of future generations. “Nothing to see here,” we say, as yet another catastrophic storm bears down on us, and the sea itself relocates to Main Street.
Even in the short term, putting a stop to the development of clean energy — electric vehicles, wind farms, solar arrays, battery production, even nuclear — puts hundreds of thousands of workers out of good, productive jobs and further cedes economic advantage to China.
So, what to do? Protest. Write letters and postcards to Congress. Buy your electricity from your local community power supplier. Support local journalism, like the Valley News. Swell the ranks of No Kings and related demonstrations (besides, those are fun!). Don’t give up.