Trump Mocks Extreme Weather: “Global Warming Is Fine”

Meanwhile, NASA warns that rising sea levels ARE increasing. Full story. 

“No” to EVs 

The climate seems to be the newest topic of Donald Trump’s culture war, as he has blasted President Joe Biden’s attempt to advance electric vehicles in the US as “lunacy”. As per Trump’s comments, such vehicles don’t work in cold weather and their supporters should “rot in hell”.

He’s also taken a stab at offshore wind turbines, calling them “horrible” while (falsely) linking them to the death of whales. 

Follow the Leader 

But now Congress’ Republicans are following Trump’s example by introducing a series of recent bills in the House of Representatives that target home appliances’ energy efficiency standards. 

New Bills 

The “Liberty in Laundry Act,” “Refrigerator Freedom Act,” and the “Clothes Dryers Reliability Act” are just some of the new bills that follow a conservative outcry over a confounded, groundless claim that the Biden administration was banning gas stoves. This outcry encouraged additional GOP legislation. 

Hands Off Appliances

Debbie Lasko, a Republican Congressman and sponsor of the ‘Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act,’ stated that ” no government bureaucrat should ever scheme to take away Americans’ appliances in the name of a radical environmental agenda, yet that is exactly what we have seen under the Biden administration.” 

The Act, which passed the House in May, restricts new appliance efficiency rules. 

Not Getting Along 

However, there is no chance of the Democratic-held senate agreeing on these bills. 

According to Ed Maibach, an expert in public health and climate communication at George Mason University, “We are seeing a lot of these advances, like clean cars and more efficient appliances, being swept up into the culture wars”. 

Not in Agreement 

Maibach continued by saying: “Most Americans’ instincts are that these are good things to have, but it’s clear that Donald Trump and others think there’s political gain in persuading people this isn’t the case”. 

The Day After “D” Day 

During last week’s CNN presidential debate, Biden claimed that “the only existential threat to humanity is climate change”. The next day, Trump mocked Biden’s claim while stating erroneous figures about rising sea levels. 

We’re All Fine… Right? 

At a Virginia rally last Friday, Trump was quoted as saying “Global warming is fine”, and “I heard it was going to be very warm today. It’s fine”. 

However, at an Arizona rally last month, excessive heat levels caused almost a dozen Trump supporters to pass out. 

An Ocean View 

Taking aim at Biden, Trump said: “He said it again last night, that global warming is an existential threat. And I say that the thing that’s an existential threat is not global warming, where the ocean will rise – maybe, it may go down, also – but it may rise one eighth of an inch in the next 497 years, they say. One eighth”. 

And what many are claiming was a joke, Trump then added: “Which gives you a little bit more waterfront property if you’re lucky enough though”. 

What’s the Truth? 

However, according to NASA’s March report, the global average sea level rise in 2023 was 0.17 inches per year – which is nearly double the rate it was in 1993. 

Furthermore, a World Meteorological Organization released this year claimed that between 2014 and 2023, the rate of sea level rise was about 0.19 inches per year.

Waterworld? 

That means that, in one year, sea level rise is currently more than an eighth of an inch – and it’s quickening, as NASA discovered an increase of 0.3 inches between 2022 and 2023.

Stay In Your Lane 

Last year, Gary Griggs, a University of California, Santa Cruz professor of earth and planetary sciences who studies sea level rise, said that Trump’s claims “can only be described as totally out of touch with reality”. 

He added that Trump “has no idea what he is talking about”.  

Depends Where You Live 

According to science, sea levels rise by different amounts in different locations. 

For the US east coast and Gulf of Mexico coast, for instance, sea levels are expected to rise exceptionally fast – and that includes Trump’s state of Florida, bordered by both of those coasts, which is said to be affected more harshly than other coastal states. 

Project 2025 

Trump’s opinion on global warming, and what he and his party intend to do about it, are laid out in Project 2025, which some call ‘The Trump Presidency Wish List’. 

The blueprint was produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation and is one of various think-tank proposals for the Trump platform. 

A Long Read 

According to Heritage, Project 2025, which reflects input from over 100 conservative organizations, was authored by several former Trump appointees. The document is over 900 pages long. 

Forget the Natural Resources 

Among other issues, Project 2025 calls for cutting federal money intended for research and investment in renewable energy. It also proposes that the next president must “stop the war on oil and natural gas”. 

Costs and Tariffs 

Furthermore, the document puts forth two competing visions on tariffs and is divided on whether the next US president should attempt to increase free trade or boost barriers to export. 

Economic advisers, however, suggest that a second Trump administration should lower corporate- and income taxes, eradicate the Federal Reserve, and even contemplate returning to gold-backed currency. 

More Flooding? 

Meanwhile, a study called “Looming Deadlines for Coastal Resilience” is warning that millions of Americans’ lives are to be disrupted by the rising sea levels fueled by global heating. 

As per the study, hundreds of US homes, schools, and government buildings will be subject to frequent and repeated flooding by 2050. 

Careful of the Coast 

The new research, conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), claims that nearly 1,100 critical infrastructure assets sustaining coastal communities are at risk of monthly flooding by 2050. 

Most of these assets (934) will face flood risks every other week, which could result in some coastal neighborhoods becoming unlivable within 20 – 30 years. 

Millions in Danger? 

Currently, the 703 US coastal communities with critical infrastructure are home to nearly 3 million people. These include affordable and subsidized housing, toxic industrial sites, power plants, schools, and hospitals – all of which are at risk of monthly disruptive flooding by 2050.  

Which States? 

The states with the most critical infrastructure that are required to be made more flood resilient (or be relocated to safer ground) are California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. 

Underprivileged Groups 

The disadvantaged coastal communities with infrastructures at risk of experiencing floods have bigger numbers of Black-, Latino-, and Native American residents.

The infrastructure in these communities that are most at risk is public- and affordable housing.  

Timing is Everything 

This report is introduced at a critical time for the climate emergency amid escalating fossil fuel products in countries such as the US, Brazil, Canada, China, Norway, and the UK. 

Dangerous heatwaves, floods, and droughts are also hitting communities around the globe with increased regularity and strength.  

The Climate IS Changing 

In the meantime, the shocking results of slow-onset climate disasters like rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and desertification are also driving international rising costs, the loss of homes and people’s livelihoods, and the forced displacement of communities.

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