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Dear John,

The teachers' union strike in Oakland went into overtime not due to teacher pay, but instead over “common good” demands including ([link removed]) “efforts to mitigate climate change.” The American Federation of Teachers’ “AFT Climate Justice ([link removed]) ” arm campaigns for “green schools” and fossil-fuel-free teacher pension fund investments. Last month, the Service Employees International Union held their third annual "Climate, Jobs and Justice Summit ([link removed]) ."

As government unions triple down on making "climate justice" central to their platforms and political activism, we thought it would be timely to share an article by California Policy Center senior fellow Edward Ring published by American Greatness last week that pushes back against the unions' narrative, to say the least.

Read on...


** Challenging the premise of our destruction
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The most powerful and destructive perception in the world today is that using fossil fuels will cause catastrophic climate change. This belief, marketed by every major government and corporate institution in the Western world, is the foundational premise underlying a policy agenda of stunning indifference to the aspirations of ordinary people.

It’s no secret that Gov. Gavin Newsom and his policies for California are at the forefront of this global campaign. His failures provide a clear example of what’s in store for us all. An obvious example: California's push to switch to all electric vehicles in a state where the governor had to plead with residents to reduce electricity consumption during a heat wave to avoid rolling blackouts.

The war on fossil fuel is a war on freedom, prosperity, independence, national sovereignty, world peace, domestic tranquility, and, most ironically, the environment itself ([link removed]) . It is a war of rich against poor, the privileged against the disadvantaged, and authoritarians against freedom-loving people everywhere.

But this war cannot be won unless the perception is maintained. If fossil fuel is allowed to compete against other energy alternatives for customers as a vital and growing part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, this authoritarian political agenda falls apart.

The numbers are compelling and can be distilled to two indisputable facts: First, fossil fuel continues to provide over 80 percent of all energy ([link removed]) consumed worldwide. Second, if every person living on planet Earth were to consume half as much energy ([link removed]) per year as the average American currently consumes, global energy production would need to double.

Several inescapable conclusions derive from these two facts, if one assumes that energy is the driver of prosperity. Just in case that is not obvious, imagine Americans living with half as much energy as they use today. Where would the cuts occur? Would they drive their cars half as much? Heat their homes half as much? Operate manufacturing, farming, and mining equipment half as much? They would need to do all those things and more. The economy would collapse.

These consequences don’t escape the intelligentsia who promote “net zero” policies; they explain the policies they advocate: the recent promotion of “15-minute cities” that will inform rezoning and redevelopment to put all essential services within a 15-minute walk of every residence; the rise of “congestion pricing” to charge automobiles special tolls if they drive into an expanding footprint of urban neighborhoods; “smart buildings,” “smart meters” and “smart cities” — to name a few.

These “innovations,” all in progress, only begin to describe what is coming. By restricting new development and systematically reducing the use of fossil fuels, the global middle class will shrink instead of grow. The wealthiest elites will buy their way out of the smart slums.

Americans have been backed into a corner. If anyone calls for abundant energy — or abundant anything, since energy, and fossil fuel in particular, is the prerequisite for virtually all goods and services — they are shouted down as “climate deniers.”

Claiming that climate change is not catastrophic and unprecedented, or that fossil fuel is necessary to power civilization, remains today the territory of outliers. Joining this community risks losing personal credibility and the ability to work with every self-styled moderate, serious activist that just wants to recognize the political and commercial reality in America and get along.

The irony is stupefying. Without fossil fuel, America will enter a dark age, and the only way to control a restive population that’s seen its standard of living plummet will be through the establishment of a technology-driven police state. They are the fascists. The so-called climate deniers are fighting for prosperity and freedom.

There are plenty of environmental challenges. Being an environmentalist is a good thing. But there has to be balance, and there has to be debate. Claiming that anthropogenic CO2 will not cause catastrophic climate change is a credible, necessary point of view, backed up by scientific evidence. If more people make that claim, the climate cult can be broken, and civilization can be rescued from oblivion.

This is an edited version of a longer article by CPC senior fellow Edward Ring that originally appeared in American Greatness. Read it here. ([link removed])
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** Radio Free California #277: Republicans, Get Your Megaphones!
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On this week's podcast with CPC president Will Swaim and CPC board member David Bahnsen: State Democrats hoped that hosting a Black Tennessee lawmaker would highlight the Republican threat to democracy, but they got a civics lesson from Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Gallagher instead. Gavin Newsom struggles with a soaring budget deficit. And why undocumented immigrants love California (it’s not just the weather). Listen now. ([link removed])

More from CPC ()


** Newsom Wisely Avoids Transit Bailout in May Budget Revise
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Despite pressure from Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and transit agencies, Gov. Newsom's May Budget Revise excluded emergency funding for local bus and rail systems around the state. The proposed transit bailout was at best premature, and the governor should be applauded for omitting it. Read the article ([link removed]) by CATO Institute's Marc Joffe.
The Rise of Zombie Cities

In the private sector, when a company only generates sufficient income to cover its operating costs and interest on its debt, it's called a zombie company. We now have a similar phenomenon in local government: zombie cities. California Policy Center senior fellow Mark Moses explains what city officials can do to get their fiscal house in order. Read now. ([link removed])
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