The Left’s Climate “Whataboutism” Is On Full Display in California
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
September 15, 2022
Daily Wire
“[C]limate change” is simply the Left’s catchall excuse for anything that goes wrong…. This is especially true in California. Just look at Democrats’ response to the state’s terrible wildfires…. When the fires strike, opportunistic politicians and click-starved journalists predictably blame global warming…. In reality, the connection is a bit more complicated….
Over the years, California’s policy of stopping wildfires as soon as they start has caused the state’s tree density to explode…. That surge has made major wildfires far more likely than they used to be….
There’s a similar dynamic at work with California’s electricity woes…. It doesn’t take a genius to see that banning fossil fuels in a hot, arid state, where the average person drives roughly 30,000 miles per year, could lead to power shortages—especially when renewable technologies aren’t as efficient as traditional ones….
That’s not to mention, as well, that regulation slips allowed one of California’s major utility companies, Pacific Gas and Electric, to ignore aging infrastructure for decades as they charged “abnormally high electricity rates” to their customers….
When an algal bloom hit San Francisco Bay this summer, a University of California professor said it was the result of global warming…. We now know that the bloom was the result of a complete failure by local governments to upgrade and modernize sewage treatment plants….
These examples show how the Left’s climate change alarmism is often just “whataboutism,” a way to avoid confronting real problems like California’s incompetent state and local governments. They also show that the best way to respond to climate change is not Green New Deal-style policies that weaken our infrastructure and economy.
Rather, the key is to invest in technological innovation and adaptation to environmental changes. It’s what we are doing in Florida. To make those investments, however, left-wing politicians would need to quit playing their lazy blame-games and put in the type of work that doesn’t generate clicks or online donations.
