By: Shawn Alli
Posted: April 18, 2017 (on http://www.shawnalli.com/)
*Disclosure: I am a climate denier, albeit a more rational one.
*Disclosure: I am NOT funded by any oil, natural gas or coal corporations. I am NOT funded by any private interest groups (NGOs, foundations or political entities).
Actor Ian Somerhalder wants young evangelicals like Anna Jane Joyner to get the Christian movement on board with man-made climate change. While young evangelicals see no conflict between faith and science, there is. Young evangelicals believe in a clockmaker approach of god (relative to the Earth).
God creates humanity and the Earth and leaves it up to humans to take care of or destroy. What about the personal lives of his believers? Oddly enough for young evangelicals, the clockmaker god doesn't apply to personal relationships. The regular loveable and caring Christian god intervenes in the lives of his believers.
Basically, god doesn't care about the Earth but cares about you. This is completely nonsensical, more so than regular Christian ideologies. In reality, young evangelicals are just liberal Christians interpreting Christian ideology to fit their prior liberal/scientific ideologies. It's always nice to see how each generation and each Christian reinterprets scriptures and their god in their own way.
While it's nice that young evangelicals accept the evolution of the Earth and humanity, doing so completely negates the Bible. If you believe in evolution of the Earth and humanity, there's no Adam and Eve. There's no original sin. And if there's no original sin, there's no need for a savior (Jesus). You can't have it both ways.
While many Christians are very much aware of the lack of reality of their 6000 year old creation story, many still believe it and call it a mystery. And to be fair, that position is more genuine than young evangelicals who deny the Adam and Eve story but embrace everything else.
Of course, you're free to accept or reject anything you want. But if you want to maintain some level of...rationality is not the correct word...some level of coherence in your ideology, you can't deny Genesis and still believe that Jesus is your savior.
Somerhalder meets with Mary Anne Hitt (of the Sierra Club) to shut down a coal plant. He asks the burning question about whether electricity rates will skyrocket from the possible closure. Hitt says:
New clean energy that's coming online is actually in some places cheaper than existing coal plants like this one [Ashville coal plant].
Allow me to pop that bubble for you. The Ontario provincial government in Canada (with a Liberal majority) goes all in for renewables in the past. And today in 2017 the electricity bills are skyrocketing. Some people can't even afford to pay their groceries and electricity bill. They have to choose one. Don't believe me? See for yourself [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
"Something's wrong now, Mr. Trudeau. My heat and hydro now cost me more than my mortgage," she said. "I now not only work 75 hours a week, I stay and work 15 hours a day just so I don't lose my home."
"I make almost $50,000 a year, Mr. Trudeau, and I'm living in energy poverty. Please tell me how you are going to fix that."
Holding her hydro bill, Katula challenged Trudeau on carbon pricing and said her hydro bill is upwards of $1,000 as people in the crowd shouted "shame."
She said at one point in the summer, she went without electricity for five days, despite paying a $680 bill.
"I called and I begged our hydro company. They wouldn't do nothing. Five days, I lived in that heat."
She continued to press Trudeau in the emotional exchange.
"How do you justify to a mother of four children, three grandchildren, physical disabilities and working up to 15 hours a day; how is it justified for you to ask me to pay a carbon tax when I only have a $65 left of my paycheque every two weeks to feed my family?"
"I am asking you to fix our hydro system. I am asking you to fix Canada." [1]
Toronto resident Nick Pemberton used $1.30 worth of electricity at his Muskoka cottage in the fall — and paid Hydro One $82.53 to deliver it. [2]
Forgive the ideological science, but I need to say it. Liberals are not intelligent enough to balance budgets, deliver sound fiscal policy, and use taxpayer money wisely. Perhaps it's something in the genes. Generally speaking, liberals are more suited to be watchdogs and the official opposition to conservatives in power.
Today, the cost of electricity for peak time in Toronto, Ontario/GTA (GTA population of 6.4 million) is 18 cents/kwh. [9]
In Yellowknife, NWT (population 20,000) the cost is 23 cents/kwh. [10]
In isolated NWT Aboriginal communities it costs almost 29 cents/kwh with a subsidy. [11] Without a subsidy, it costs 66 cents/kwh. [11]
20,000 people in Yellowknife pay 23 cents/kwh and 6.4 million pay 18 cents/kwh? Only a five cent difference? Something's not right here. And just so we're clear, the Toronto cost is with nuclear energy. If you dare cut out nuclear energy, the entire Ontario grid will collapse.
And despite all of this, the Ontario provincial government is pushing electric cars. [12] [13] [14]. Hilarious.
Look, I'm not against renewable energy. But the technology is still inferior to traditional energy. The best solar can do is a 34.5% efficiency rate (unfocused). [15] And batteries don't work well in super cold weather. That's not cutting edge technology. That's not even a passing grade. Wind turbine efficiency is 40%. [16] At least the best coal plant in the world can push to almost 46% efficiency. [17]
I'm just going to say it. There is a clear and intentional suppression of completely new forms of energy/propulsion. For over 100 years we've been stuck on coal, oil, natural gas, solar, hydro, and wind energy (yes, renewable energy is over 100 years old).
Currently, the best innovative form of energy we have in 2017 is nuclear fusion (the power of the sun in a bottle). Unfortunately, it's still at the research/experimental level. [18] [19] [20]
Getting back to the documentary, Leslie Stahl from 60 Minutes goes to Greenland to experience climate change for herself. While the directors film a spectacular glacier show (queue the suspenseful music), it's not the end of the world. While ice in the Arctic is melting, ice in the Antarctica is increasing. [21]
Eventually though, the glaciers in the Arctic will melt, but again, it's not the end of the world. People that believe that it is are practicing ideological junk science. I like how Stahl only mentions the usual villains (oil, coal, and natural gas) but leaves out the meat industry. That's not accidental. That's intentional. Why? Because if the meat industry becomes the enemy, most people will tune out. Hence, the silence.
Stahl then talks about the strong evidence from the UN Climate Change Panel. Would this be the same panel that says glaciers in the Himalayas are going to disappear? [22] Yes. Is this similar to climate change scientists bending the science to fit their ideologies? [23] Yes. Sadly, most of these scientists aren't practicing objective falsifiable science. In their polarized world, they're tightly wrapped up in their ideological bubbles.
Stahl talks to Dr. Heidi Cullen (a climate scientist). Cullen uses the smoking and body analogy. Smoking destroys the organs. Traditional energy sources destroy the lungs of the planet. Yawn. Interestingly enough, a person chooses via consciousness to smoke a cigarette. Does that consciousness also apply to the Earth? I doubt it.
Cullen then goes into the extreme weather argument. I'm sorry but that's not falsifiable objective science. You can't say that man-made climate change causes extreme weather be it super hot or super cold. That's ideological junk science. And this ideological science is the same foundation for past science such as eugenics, marijuana prohibition, women's lower intelligence, and cholesterol and fat.
Cullen says that the job of a scientist is to hold up a danger sign. What? It's WE scientists who extract and refine traditional energy. It's WE scientists who create toxic pesticides and endocrine disrupters. It's WE scientists who create antibiotic resistance. Contrary to what you may believe, WE scientists aren't part of the solution. They're part of the problem (see Philosophy Reborn Part IV: Naturally Unhealthy Big Pharma & Big Media).
Stahl then talks about the dangers of potential oil and natural gas extraction from new deposits. In reality, no WE government is really taking this seriously. The Canadian Trudeau Liberal majority government is still allowing pipelines and new resource extraction to proceed. [24] [25]
Government officials don't really believe in man-made climate change. They're just taking action (putting a price on carbon) to appease the environmental movement. WE governments are quite capable of shutting down coal, oil, and natural gas extraction by denying permits/licenses. But they don't.
As a side note, I love the fact that all of these people, the producers, directors, Hollywood actors, and scientists are using gas/oil cars, planes, and boats to travel in order to make their point about Big Oil destroying the world. Hilarious.
Somerhalder then decries the loss of oysters in Florida due to warmer currents. Yes, that's a natural consequence of a warming world. But the global market for oysters is abundant. Don't believe me? Go to your local seafood restaurant and ask for oysters. You'll find them in stock and relatively cheap. The directors are trying to manipulate you emotionally in order to feel sorry for Florida oyster farmers because they can't make a living on oysters.
Back in Toronto, if you make 60-80K and want to buy a detached house, you won't be able to. Why not? Because the prices are skyrocketing to over $1 million in 2017. [26] [27] [28] [29] Even if you put down 100K you'll be in debt for life for the other 900K. Lamenting the fact that one part of the oyster supply market is low is inconsequential to real problems in general.
At least Greenpeace does more than talk in its efforts against Arctic drilling. In 2015 they get their wish as most oil corporations abandon their Arctic drilling programs. [30] The situation is comical of course. If all the oil, natural, gas, and coal plants shut down overnight, the entire global economy will grind to a complete halt. Even liberals would decry it because they wouldn't be able to express their feelings on Facebook and Twitter.
Somerhalder then paints a picture of almost all traditional energy scientists as being in the pocket of Big Industry. And while some are, most aren't. And again, I DO NOT receive any funding for these articles or any articles critical of the climate change movement from Big Industry.
To prove his argument, Somerhalder throws in a climate skeptic turned believer into the mix. That's nice, but there are more people who are climate believers who become skeptics and deniers. It just shows that people are constantly changing their ideologies.
Stahl ends the episode with an air of doom as she mentions that Greenland's government grants exploratory licenses to Big Industry, and that the Russians have struck oil in the Arctic (queue the edgy intense background music). When in doubt, blame it all on the Russians. Oddly enough, just as Putin is too deep with Assad to get out, most climate change believers are too deep into the climate change movement to get out.
Like Christians who don't believe in the ideology but stay with the religion, breaking up usually breaks up families and friendships. It's much easier to stay silent and pay lip service to the cause. It's disingenuous, but understandable.
References:
[1] Watch this Ontario mother's powerful plea to Justin Trudeau on soaring hydro bills. CBC News. January 13, 2017.
[2] Ferguson, Rob. Wynne gets cold shoulder from PM on hydro costs. Toronto Star. January 13, 2017.
[3] Ferguson, Rob. Rural Ontario hydro users hoping for deliverance from high bills. Toronto Star. February 5, 2017.
[4] Crawley, Mike. Why hydro bills are so high in Ontario. CBC News. November 22, 2016.
[5] Benzie, Robert and Ferguson, Rob. Premier Kathleen Wynne to cut hydro rates by 25 per cent. Toronto Star. March 1, 2017.
[6] Ward, Adam. Wynne defends government's plan to lower hydro rates during Barrie stop. CTV News. March 14, 2017.
[7] Jones, Allison. Hydro One CEO $4.5M salary 'not part of the equation' of cutting electric bills: minister. Canadian Press. March 30, 2017.
[8] Ferguson, Rob and Benzie, Robert. Ontarians paid $37 billion extra for electricity from 2006-14, says auditor general Bonnie Lysyk. Toronto Star. December 2, 2015.
[9] Residential Electricity rates. Toronto Hydro.
[10] Yellowknife Calculator. Northland Utilities.
[11] Residential Electricity Rates. Northwest Territories Power Corporation.
[12] Ferguson, Rob. Ontario boosts subsidies for electric car-buyers to a maximum of $14,000. Toronto Star. February 10, 2016.
[13] Engel, Shirlee. Ontario's electric car goal could lead to increase in hydro rates, expert says. Global News. August 10, 2016.
[14] Ferguson, Rob and Benzie, Robert. Ontario subsidies for electric vehicles under fire after minister's staffer leaves to work for Tesla. Toronto Star. February 23, 2017.
[15] Da Silva, Wilson. Milestone in solar cell efficiency by UNSW engineers. UNSW Sydney. May 17, 2016.
[16] Wind Turbines and the Energy in Wind. FT Exploring.
[17] Santoianni, Dawn. Setting the Benchmark: The World's Most Efficient Coal-Fired Power Plants. Cornerstone. March 16, 2015.
[18] Carrington, Damian. MIT nuclear fusion record marks latest step towards unlimited clean energy. Guardian. October 17, 2016.
[19] Carrington, Damian. After 60 years, is nuclear fusion finally poised to deliver? Guardian. December 2, 2016.
[20] Stone, Brad. Former Google Vice President Starts a Company Promising Clean and Safe Nuclear Energy. Bloomberg. April 3, 2017.
[21] Johnson, Scott, K. New research explains why Antarctic sea ice has grown. Ars Technica. July 9, 2016.
[22] Bagla, Pallava. IPCC Finally Acknowledges Its "Himalayan Blunder." Scientific American. April 4, 2014.
[23] Pearce, Fred. The five key leaked emails from UEA's Climatic Research Unit. Guardian. July 7, 2010.
[24] Hebert, Chantel. What the LNG pipeline approval tells us about Trudeau's Liberals: Hebert. Toronto Star. September 29, 2016.
[25] Tasker, John Paul. Trudeau cabinet approves Trans Mountain, Line 3 pipelines, rejects Northern Gateway. CBC News. November 29, 2016.
[26] Jang, Brent. A million dollars now buys a tear-down in Toronto's Greektown. Globe and Mail. February 8, 2017.
[27] Kalinowski, Tess. Newly built GTA home passes $1 million average price. Toronto Star. February 23, 2017.
[28] Evans, Pete. 2 big banks raise alarm over Toronto housing 'bubble.' CBC News. March 17, 2017.
[29] Onoszko, Maciej. 'Deep pockets are driving up the cost of homes': Finance minister vows to cool Ontario housing market. Bloomberg News. April 13, 2017.
[30] Davidson, Sean. Oil companies give Arctic the cold shoulder. CBC News. September 29, 2015.