Everyone talks about the weather but...
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There is so much we do not know about climate change. Currently, much of the Northern Hemisphere suffers from excess heat. Meanwhile, extreme cold is spreading from Antarctica into South America. Southern Brazil battles record low temperatures and tons of snow. Thus, what one thinks about climate change is akin to the parable of the Blind Men and the Elephant.
For example, up here at 8,500 feet above sea level and surrounded by snow-capped mountain peaks averaging 13,000 feet, we experienced some of the coldest temperatures and heaviest snowfalls, ever. Meanwhile, as people at lower elevations swelter in excessive heat, this spring and summer, we have been blessed with delightfully cool temperatures and rain showers almost every evening.
Indeed, Lake Granby is full to the brim and has been spilling tons of water downstream into the Colorado River. This winter’s super snowmelt saved Lake Powell and Lake Mead from going into "dead storage." Based on recent experience here and record low temperatures in South America, it would be easy to conclude we have global cooling. But people living elsewhere at lower elevations and, in particular, in places such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, would be quick to disagree.
Okay, so the climate changes. But does Humankind cause the climate to change? Some say, yes. Some say, no. But everyone should agree that we need to clean up all the trash created by Humankind and keep it from poisoning our waterways and oceans.about 3.4 percent of our energy needs. Add in hydro and nuclear power and we must still rely on fossil fuels for over 80 percent of the energy needed to operate our economy, including the air conditioners so many people must have to survive excessive heat.
Thanks to the Shale Revolution, the U.S. is blessed with an abundance of oil and natural gas. If the Biden* regime would take its regulatory and enviro-nut foot off of our oil and gas industry the price of gasoline at the pump would soon dip down to Trump-era levels.
Unfortunately, Europeans have relied too heavily on alternative energy sources. And if weather forecasts are accurate, Europeans will find themselves in freezing temperatures this winter. Europeans will be forced to pay whatever the Russians want to charge for natural gas. And, while they may not like Putin’s aggressions, Europeans will be less likely to oppose him in Ukraine and elsewhere. Rather than freeze to death, Europeans may have to chose between food and freezing.
Fortunately, the U.S. has abundant oil and gas resources at hand. But the least among may have to choose between freezing and food. This comes at a bad time as corruption at the highest levels of government is being uncovered and at the beginning of our most important election, ever.
©2023. William Hamilton.
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