By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – –
The Trump White House actually did a pro-coal exhibit at the Bonn climate summit in Germany, COP23. It did not go over well.
Indeed, this sort of absurd stunt has the makings of a complete end to American leadership in the world. Mark Twain once observed that “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”
The Trump administration at COP23 is naked. Because it is unclothed, lacking any moral fiber, it can be disregarded. And everyone is disregarding it.
It is sort of like someone opened a butcher shop at a PETA conference.
Journalist Aude Massiot wrote an account at Twitter,
As the Trumpies were speaking, part of the crowd began chanting, “Keep it in the Ground!”
Manifestation à la #COP23 contre la conférence de la Maison blanche en faveur des énergies fossiles et du nucléaire #US pic.twitter.com/jq2ISiWTne
— Aude Massiot (@MassiotAude) November 13, 2017
The Trump-backed panel, on the usefulness of fossil fuels, was criticized by other participants.
The presentation suffered from poor timing, as it turned out. It coincided with the issuance by scientists of findings that after leveling off for the past three years, carbon dioxide emissions are spiking again. Worse, some of the increase is coming from a feedback loop set in motion by massive human C02 emissions. The hotter it is, the more CO2 comes out of the soil and the more methane natural sources emit.
California governor Jerry Brown and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg led a “sub-national” delegation to Berlin, pledging to meet climate goals and slash emissions of greenhouse gases.
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Related video added by Juan Cole:
This is a perfect example of America’s falling from power. With Trump’s conquest to trash everything and all things Obama, and in Trump’s terms ‘Obama’s leading from behind’, with Trump in charge this is where America will lead in it’s decline. The future of dealing with climate change is the biggest prize of them all, but Trump’s narrow minded base doesn’t get it that way. Trump and his followers feel that climate change is a hoax, but the last laugh will be on them. The Paris Climate Accords is the right place to perform a country’s leadership abilities, but don’t tell Trump that, because then you are ‘fake news’.
From a purely economic opportunity standpoint, “fixing” climate change is the next huge economic opportunity that the USA will completely miss out on.
While the Luddites in the USA are ignoring reality (staring them in the face), the economically ambitious are racing to reap the profits of converting from carbon energy to non-carbon energy.
The world NEEDS energy for humans to function, LOTS of energy, so the non-carbon energy market is HUGE.
BUT . . . .
The USA is totally ignoring that market and letting Europe and Asia solve the problem while making the profits.
Eventually there will be only a minuscule market for carbon energy and the USA will have almost zero income from carbon energy while at the same time be years behind in the non-carbon energy markets where Europe and Asia will have essentially shoved the USA out of market and the USA citizens will have to buy their non-carbon energy resources from Europe and Asia at high cost.
There is no future in carbon energy markets and the USA is dooming its economy by not rapidly walking away from carbon energy.
America’s falling from power may be all Trump, but its “last laugh” is on all of us . . . .
Senator Jim Inhofe used to be the lone despicable nut, trying to represent the dissenting view from the US, at these type of conferences.
Now they are the ones in power and criminally doing everything they can to undermine progress and screwing everyone.
For the love of civilization can your Congress please wake up and get on with impeachment?
Jerry Brown decided it was a good time for jokes.
AMY GOODMAN: So they said, “Keep it in the ground.”
GOV. JERRY BROWN: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: And you responded by saying, “Let’s put you in the ground.”
GOV. JERRY BROWN: Yeah.
AMY GOODMAN: Can you explain what you meant?
GOV. JERRY BROWN: That was a joke. Now, Amy, don’t use your media outlet for this kind of silliness. That was an ironic remark in the face of a noisy demonstration when it’s very hard to even hear, much less keep your thought there. And—
AMY GOODMAN: But it was Native Americans, and they took it very seriously. Do you—
link to democracynow.org