5 Myths About Global Warming
Powerful agendas pushed by the left, members of the renewable energy industry, and climate alarmists in Hollywood are ramming so-called “facts” about global warming into Americans’ everyday lives.
President Joe Biden has said his $2 trillion environmental plan will drive the country’s domestic and foreign policies. But some climate experts warn that science doesn’t necessarily back up the global warming claims being pushed by “climate scientists” and politicians. “Climate is changing for whatever reason,” founder of JunkScience.com Steve Milloy told Newsmax. “How do you know it’s for the worse? How do you know it’s not for the better?”
He said claims that humans are fueling global warming aren’t necessarily supported by scientific proof. “There are a lot of agendas at work here,” he said. “There’s a left-right divide on this issue. The reason for this is the policy solution to climate alarm is all government control, which is the left’s agenda. Every ‘green solution’ expands government control of your life.”
James Taylor, president of The Heartland Institute, a public policy think tank, said the “climate left’s” agenda reveals the “top climate myths.”
Myth 1. Atmospheric CO2 drives climate change.
Many climate alarmists believe that humans created the climate crisis. Milloy said they argue that if it weren’t for man-made emissions, the climate would be the same as it was before the emissions started. But, he said, history shows that it was as warm, if not warmer, 1,000 years ago between 800 and 1,400 A.D. He added that the global temperatures have been warming since the world came out of the Little Ice Age. Since 1650, 200 years before the Industrial Revolution began, temperatures have been rising. The last time CO2 was as high as it currently is, Milloy points out that the sea level was 20 feet higher.
Myth 2. Carbon dioxide is pollution.
Milloy said CO2 is vital for plant growth and an increase in carbon dioxide emissions has yielded a higher number of crops. He said NASA satellite images prove that the Earth is greener today than it was 40 years. “Calling [carbon dioxide] pollution is such a demonization,” Milloy said. “It’s not reality or science.”
Taylor said overall countries worldwide are logging records “virtually every year” when it comes to crop yield. “Warmer temperatures mean longer growing periods,” he said.
Myth 3. Climate change is forcing climate migration.
The belief that climate change is driving people from their hometowns as they seek food has been debunked by crop production records. “Climate change is reducing — not increasing — the pressure on migration and refugees,” Taylor said.
He also noted that island nations such as Tuvalu and the Maldives are actually growing, not shrinking. “Scientific reviews indicate that a majority of islands are growing even though sea level is rising modestly,” he said, noting that claims that rising seas are forcing people living on island nations to flee aren’t true.
Myth 4. Storms/weather are worsening/strengthening.
There is no scientific link to prove that changes in CO2 result in bad weather, Milloy said. He pointed out that there is no trend of storms increasing or causing more damage because of increase in human-driven carbon emissions.
While we constantly hear about expensive natural disasters, Milloy notes that we have built more property, and often expensive property, in riskier areas. For example, South Florida features more luxury homes in areas prone to hurricanes and changing sea levels. “Miami Beach was built on a manmade sandbar over 100 years ago,” he said. “Nature is slowly reclaiming it.”
Taylor said NASA satellites show that wildfires are actually declining. Images show that there is a 25% decline in areas burned by wildfires since 2003. “It’s nonsensical to blame wildfires on global warming as they become less severe,” he said.
Myth 5. Global warming is harming national security.
Taylor said assertions that climate change harms national security by forcing migration and inducing nations to fight over increasingly scarce food and resources isn’t based in fact.
In reality, he said climate activism can actually put the U.S. in harm’s way. If the military is forced to use more expensive fuel like biofuel for jet planes, money is taken out of the defense budget to pay for the higher fuel cost.
Moves to reduce both production and export of conventional energy forces the U.S. and allied nations to rely more on Russia, China, or other adversarial nations for oil, coal, or natural gas. Shifts to use more solar panels and wind turbines also threaten U.S. national security because China possesses the rare earth minerals needed to pursue these energy sources. “We would be beholden to China for our electricity supply,” Taylor said. “We would be putting ourselves at the mercy of China.”
