During his campaign for president, Donald Trump bragged about the size of his penis. Since taking office, by any reasonable measure, he has made more wild, unsubstantiated boasts than any president in living memory. Is he just compensating for his political impotence?
As nations gathered recently in Bonn at COP23, scratching their heads over why the U.S. would be the only nation on earth to deny climate change science and to withdraw from the landmark agreement that was reached two years ago in Paris (in case you missed it, even Syria has now joined), there are strong signs that a low carbon future is not only inevitable, but will be the primary driver of economic growth in the 21st century.
Having recently enjoyed the “rockets’ red glare” on July 4th, our Declaration of Independence came to mind as a way to understand the evolving, and distinctly different, approaches to addressing climate change that are emerging in the US.
Fool’s gold glitters as brightly as the real thing, but a lot of valuable time and money can be wasted figuring out the difference. The proposal to price carbon pollution in America put forward recently by noted conservatives and fossil fuel companies may be a fresh, constructive way to tackle climate change, but make no mistake – – it is little more than a shiny object that could do more harm than good.
Joining the hundreds of thousands of marchers in Washington DC to highlight the need for global action on climate change, I could not escape noticing that it was the same day as President Trump’s 100th day in office. With news media (and many clever signs in the March) bombarding us with “first 100 days” report cards, I began thinking about what the next 100 days might look like and soon realized that Americans – – especially Trump supporters – – are about to become the big losers.
You would think a President who appoints the CEO of Exxon/Mobil and the former Governor of Texas to key cabinet positions would love the oil and gas industry. Perhaps he does, but his latest executive order amounts to an unintentional regulatory shot across the bow of Big Oil & Gas.
From what we’ve seen of the President-elect so far, he seems to like big, bold ideas. Here’s one that could change the world.
Here are two facts about the man who will soon be President of the United States, only one of which can be true.
Shortly before the start of World War II, Adolf Hitler decided that every German should be able to afford a car, so he created and subsidized the Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) Wagen.
Traveling through the Middle East this week, I heard unprecedented pessimism from colleagues in government and the private sector about the health of economies that are mostly dependent on the flaccid price of oil.