By Chris Talgo
Per usual, the climate alarmists are citing the recent heat wave that hit large portions of the Midwest as more foolproof evidence of climate change. Although these charlatans are correct that yes, the global climate is changing and always has changed, their policy prescriptions for this natural phenomenon would make little difference in the grand scheme while creating a much poorer and wretched world.
I use the recent heat trend in the Midwest because as a life-long Chicagoan I am well aware that extremely hot days are not abnormal in the Windy City during summer.
Three decades ago, when I was a kid at summer camp, a heatwave gripped the Midwest that “claimed over 500 lives in Chicago and hundreds more across the Midwest.”
According to the National Weather Service, “Chicago has experienced a number of significant heat waves and hot summers over the years,” particularly in 1911, 1916, the 1930s, 1947, and the 1950s. It also must be noted that temperature records for this region have been chronicled only over the past few centuries, which means we have an incomplete picture of temperature fluctuations over the long term.
In other words, hot weather episodes in the Midwest are nothing new and they occurred well before the mass adoption of automobiles.
Related: Remember the Polar Vortex? It’s Still Not Climate Change.
Climate Science, the Scam, the Misinformation – An Expert Speaks
Activists using the recent heat wave to push their leftist agenda often claim that their definition of the term climate change includes the inevitable devastation of agriculture across the Midwest.
However, they are completely wrong on this because a slightly warmer planet, which we are experiencing, is generally better for crop yields.
As my colleague, Linnea Lueken, notes in a new climate profile of Wisconsin, my neighbor to the north, “According to USDA data, Wisconsin’s corn grain production, which includes corn for human and animal consumption, as well as ethanol production, has increased 45 percent since 1990, and soybean production rose an astounding 477 percent in that same period.”
“Harmful climate change is not evident in Wisconsin’s weather, climate, or agricultural data. Winter temperatures are not quite as cold, which benefits human health, not harms it. Neither flood nor tornado trends are worsening. Modest warming has boosted agricultural output, benefiting Wisconsin farmers and consumers,” the report concludes.
Despite these easily confirmed facts, climate alarmists are hellbent on using any sort of weather event to promote the need for their green energy snake oil.
Like Illinois, Wisconsin is gung-ho for the green transition.
Without any evidence, Gov. Tony Evers claims, “The climate crisis is taking an undeniable toll on the health, safety, and economic well-being of folks across our state. The livelihood of Wisconsin farmers is in danger with extreme and unpredictable weather taking a toll on crops and production.”
To fight this non-existent crisis, Evers has followed the lead of governors like California’s Gavin Newsom and Illinois’ JB Pritzker in moving “toward a clean energy economy.”
Under Evers, Wisconsin has launched a “Clean Energy Plan,” “prioritizing the core values of justice, equity and collective action.”
Among its lofty goals, the CEP aims to make the Badger State “100 percent carbon-free by 2050,” ensure Wisconsin “fulfills the carbon reduction goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement,” reduce “disproportionate impacts of energy generation and use on low-income communities and communities of color,” maximize “the creation of, and equitable opportunities for, clean energy jobs,” and prioritize “health equity, environmental justice, and equitable economic development.”
Most laughably, Evers claims the CEP will “improve the reliability and affordability of the energy system.” Actually, it will do the opposite.
In “Affordable, Reliable, and Clean: An Objective Scorecard to Assess Competing Energy Sources,” Heartland Institute President James Taylor notes, “Affordable, reliable, and clean are the foundational elements of sound energy policy. An in-depth analysis of seven common electrical power sources reveals that natural gas makes the most sense according to the affordable, reliable, and clean standard, with nuclear, hydro, and coal not far behind. Biomass trails by a moderate margin while wind and solar stand apart as the least desirable power sources.”
Essentially, climate alarmists are on their heels. Their apocalyptic predictions have not come to pass, not even close. Moreover, their green energy transition is floundering.
In November 2024, the American people voted overwhelmingly in favor of President Trump’s energy dominance plan. Instead of defying the administration’s attempts to impose commonsense energy policy, it would be much better if governors like Pritzker and Evers put the climate change rhetoric aside and embraced actual clean, affordable, and reliable energy.
Chris Talgo ([email protected]) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute.
Editor’s Note: Donald Trump and his team have been fighting against the left’s extreme agenda.
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