Did you hear Donald Trump say on television last week that he would “be a dictator for one day,” and “drill baby drill.” He would violate the constitution of the United States, but just for one day. All voters should reject any American politician who wants to be a dictator for however long. Anti-democratic impulses are a repudiation of America’s entire constitutional history and a fantastic level of arrogance and contempt for democracy.
The “drill baby drill” slogan is one that Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor, came up with in 2008. It refers to oil drilling on public lands; when Trump says this, it means much more. It relates to his wholesale rejection of climate change, science-based policy, and his belief in coal and oil as the core of American energy permanently. Trump said, “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” He and his fellow culture warriors ignore the extreme climate events caused by human air pollution.
Polls show most Americans and most Republicans are concerned about climate change as a major international crisis. America is rapidly shutting down its coal-fired electrical plants and replacing them with wind, solar, and natural gas plants (which need to close, too). We have begun to phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks, which is critical if we are to slow the heating of the planet and the many disasters that heating is causing. Trump’s climate denialism is now a fringe and extreme view, but one he thrusts forward.
“Drill baby drill” implies, incorrectly, that America needs to drill public lands more than we do now. President Biden has been addressing the climate crisis more than any previous president and has overseen the largest oil output from our public lands in history. The U.S. produces 13.2 million barrels of oil daily, more than any other country. Yet Biden is also pressing forward with solar, wind, and nuclear power while transforming our transportation to electric cars and trucks. Climate scientists understand this transition is urgent. We cannot return to the filthy energy of the 1960s as Trump wishes.
Overlying the nostalgia that forms the core of Trump’s political brand is his propensity to divide Americans and call those he disagrees with schoolyard names. Environmentalists, agency workers, and scientists are “environmental lunatics” and “extremists.” Thus, Trump proclaims an energy policy based on ideology rather than evidence and the greater good.
America stands at a critical crossroads. Global heating is not a joke. It is not something we can wish away with slogans and feel-good rallies and by condemning those who study the crisis. Climate change is a disease we have given to our planet. And like cancer or heart disease, a person might have, we need to address the disease urgently. People who ignore chronic diseases die in short order.
While Donald Trump has dominated the media news every day for years, his extreme views on the most critical issue of our times dominate my view of the man. We must address the other problems we face. Still, if we don’t deal with air pollution ruining our climate now, all the other problems like mass migrations (immigration), wars, food shortages, and social unrest will get much worse because of climate change. The cost of dealing with disasters like flooding and fires will consume our national and state budgets.
We need a president and politicians at all levels who understand the central importance of climate change to our country. Global heating is the first issue facing America in 2024.
