By Stephen Moore
For many years now, there's been a spirited debate about whether "climate change" is science, religion, or perhaps even a secret route to socialism. That question remains unanswered, and now we're discovering with certainty that "climate change" is a political albatross around the Democrat Party's neck. Truth be known, the zero fossil fuels suicide pact has always been an economic and political loser.
Today, the Left's spiritual devotion to climate change has Democrats speeding over a political cliff in this fall's election, with likely unprecedented losses this November.
Since more than 70% of all the energy we produce and consume in America is derived from oil, gas and coal, President Joe Biden's war on these fuel sources was sure to cause severe shortages – and $5 a gallon gasoline at the pump.Didn't Democrats learn their lesson that surging inflation and sky-rocketing gas prices is a surefire way to infuriate voters when Ronald Reagan won a landslide election over Jimmy Carter in 1980?
While Biden keeps saying he is doing "everything I can to lower gas prices," he's speaking out of both sides of his mouth – because if your goal is to get people to stop using something, raising its price is a pretty good way to accomplish that.
Democrats have been so enamored with their "Green New Deal" delusion that they've failed to understand that most people aren't as hyper-obsessed with climate change as they are. If prices go to $10 or $15 a gallon, you can clear the highways of trucks and cars altogether, and what a wonderful world it will be.
A new poll sponsored by my group, the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, found that people are much more concerned about inflation and high gas prices than climate change.
Moreover, the poll found that the average amount respondents' would be willing to pay for the Climate Change Agenda was $55 a year.
Sorry, but that's the extra cost we are already spending today with just two fill-ups at the gas station.
Sorry, but that's the extra cost we are already spending today with just two fill-ups at the gas station.
Then there is the increasingly unavoidable reality that the green energy sources they fantasize about are decades away from being technologically feasible to replace old-fashioned oil, gas and coal.
Even the U.S. Department of Energy predicts that with current trends toward "renewable" energy, by 2035 we will still be heavily reliant on oil, gas and coal for electricity production, home heating and transportation fuels.
Elon Musk, the leading champion of electric cars, reminded Mr. Biden of this in a recent tweet – that in the real world rather than in la-la land, we are going to need oil and gas for many years to come. Today just 3% of cars on the road are electric, and 95% use gas or diesel.
This brings us to yet another fatal flaw of the climate change movement – the Biden Administration and its radical green allies can't explain why getting our energy from Saudi Arabia, Iran and Russia makes more sense than Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska.
This strategy is especially pin-headed because the war on oil, gas and coal production is a big loser for the environment and increases global greenhouse gas emissions. That's because America has the strictest environmental standards. Shifting oil and gas production to Russia or Iran, and shifting coal production to China and India, is causing far more air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
And in reality, Chinese President Xi Jinping is busy trying to take over the world economy, and the last thing he or the ruling class in Beijing cares about is "climate change."
This strategy is especially pin-headed because the war on oil, gas and coal production is a big loser for the environment and increases global greenhouse gas emissions. That's because America has the strictest environmental standards. Shifting oil and gas production to Russia or Iran, and shifting coal production to China and India, is causing far more air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.And in reality, Chinese President Xi Jinping is busy trying to take over the world economy, and the last thing he or the ruling class in Beijing cares about is "climate change."
Finally, Democrats should have learned from the green energy catastrophe of Western Europe.
A decade ago, the French, Germans, Italians and others in the European Union moved to a renewable energy future. They slashed much of their oil, gas and coal production, shut down nuclear plants (to which many today are asking, why?) and subsidized the building of wind turbines and solar panels. It nearly bankrupted Germany! Energy prices soared, and factories left Europe for America and Asia.
The resultes? Going "green" wrecked their economies and submerged these countries deeper into the red. A decade later, France is back to building nuclear plants, and Germany is burning more coal than ever before – and importing natural gas from Russia.
Today, Europe has even just recently redefined natural gas and nuclear power as "clean energy."
Unfortunately, Americans weren't paying any attention to that failed experiment – so now Biden is repeating it. The result is likely to be the same.
The Democrats' radical climate change agenda isn't greening the planet, and it is bankrupting our country.
Despite what Joe Biden and the Democrats say to the contrary, American voters know exactly whom to blame.
Stephen Moore serves as Chief Economist for The Texas Insider and is a Senior Fellow at FreedomWorks. He is Co-Founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, and is a contributor to the Washington Examiner.
