I actually approve of this idea
Biden administration needs to start acting on climate change at the local level
With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration has made a historic commitment to combating climate change. For the first time, the United States has the potential to actually meet its climate goals. But we must remember that doing so will also require effective executive action to implement and support the bill’s policies.
So far, in my hometown of Philadelphia, the actions of the Biden administration are not encouraging.
Inexplicably, the federal government is spending millions of dollars that will increase emissions at some of Philadelphia’s most iconic buildings. Independence Hall National Historical Park, the cradle of our democracy, and 30th Street Station, the lynchpin of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor network, are in the process of converting from efficient steam energy to new on-site fossil fuel boilers and emissions stacks. These changes will lock in decades of additional pollution and undermine Philadelphia’s effort to transition from fossil gas to renewable power, not to mention that there are cleaner, greener, economically efficient choices. Moreover, the actions directly contradict President Biden’s executive order requiring all federal capital projects to aggressively seek to reduce their carbon footprint.
The stakes for carbon emissions at federal buildings are enormous. The General Services Administration alone manages over 375 million square feet of space in nearly 10,000 buildings. Amtrak owns and leases space in dozens of stations across the country. Federal departments and agencies can make investment decisions and capital commitments to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions without having to pass a single law or proceed through the regulatory process.
Reducing the government’s carbon footprint simply requires the will and determination to do it.
The Executive and Legislative Branch’s should be forced to reduce their own carbon footprints. Make all the elected politicians, their appointees, and their main staffs drive EVs or take mass transit. Make them rely on only “renewables” for energy at their offices, and, if there’s not quite enough power, oh well, deal with it, Sparky. They want to force Everyone Else to comply, but, they do almost nothing in their own lives
Climate hypocrites are all tell, no show
Many celebrities are full of sermons about how you need to save the planet. Often, they are the very same ones maximizing their own carbon footprints by flying on private jets. This has long been known, but the internet has now made it significantly easier to quantify their hypocrisy.
Data from ADS-B Exchange, for example, show that director and climate activist Steven Spielberg had burned at least $116,000 worth of jet fuel in 2 months on his private jet, which represents an emission of 179 tons of carbon dioxide. If extended over the course of a year, that consumption alone represents 66 times the carbon footprint of the average American, and that’s before counting any driving or electricity use by Spielberg. (Guess what — his house is probably a lot bigger and more electricity-hungry than yours.) (snip)
John Kerry’s jet has only emitted about 20 times the average American’s annual climate footprint — and in fairness, that took him about 18 months. Kerry is Biden’s climate envoy. He is a very important person. He needs a private jet to go overseas to receive important climate awards for being such a great champion of, you know, the climate. (snip)
Politicians and celebrities may not walk the walk, but they are dead serious about you sacrificing your lifestyle. Think of Saint Augustine, who famously characterized his own cavalier attitude toward sin during his youth with the wry faux-prayer, “Give me chastity, Lord — but not yet.” The prayer of the climate preacher seems to be, “Give chastity to everyone else, Lord — but not to me!”
This is, again, one of the reasons I moved from believer in anthropogenic global warming (and, again, mankind does have an influence on warming, just not that much at the global level): lots of people saying we’re doomed, but, not doing anything themselves.
