It is amazing to see the lack of courage manifested by some of the wealthiest men in our nation. They made their fortunes because of their intelligence, technical expertise, scientific knowledge and entrepreneurial spirit- because they were willing to take risks. Now, they have lined up behind President Trump and are afraid to challenge him on his policies that are bad for the nation and could be devastating for the world.
I am thinking about Trump’s moves that will accelerate climate change which is already a danger to the planet, and his rhetoric and plans to demolish American science and the scientific establishment along with research on health care. Men like Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg and their ilk are smart enough to realize what Trump has done and is continuing to do but have been afraid of criticizing him or suggesting alternatives. They know that Trump has the power and are unwilling to speak truth to power.
Last year was the hottest year on Earth on record and each month appears to be hotter than the corresponding month the previous year. We have already bypassed the 1.5 degree C rise for the planet above pre-industrial levels that nations agreed at a past Paris Climate Conference would indicate danger for the planet. Many countries are not meeting their pledges of lessening their production of greenhouse gas emissions and the use of coal is continuing as a major fuel. Methane is continuing to escape from natural gas lines and production sites, the strongest global warming gas. Yet Trump has labeled global warming as a hoax and has refused to take measures to reduce climate change. He rejects scientific data that proves that global warming is real.
Trump has taken the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and any leadership role in the fight against climate change. He wants to increase the use and dependence on fossil fuels and stop supporting renewable energy like wind and solar. He is cutting subsidies for EVs and charging stations and is not supporting the auto industries pivot to electric vehicles. He also wants to drill for oil and gas in the Alaska wilderness. Whether Trump’s stance on global warming is just political or whether he is just not smart enough to understand the validity of global warming and what it is doing to our planet is not clear. Surely, he must be aware of the unusual heat waves we are having along with the weird weather. But he is ignoring the weather changes, and his billionaire buddies are not speaking up and challenging him.
Scientific and medical research are also receiving short shrift from Trump and his administration. He appointed Robert Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic as Secretary of HHS with the NIH, FDA and CDC under his control. While Kennedy may have some good ideas about unhealthy foods, he has scant knowledge about medicine and health care and his bias against medications and vaccines could be deadly for the country, particularly if there is another pandemic like Covid, possibly Avian flu. However, Kennedy was approved by a Republican Congress also afraid of Trump, with not a word of dissent from Trump’s billionaire ensemble. And Trump is also cutting support money for scientific and medical research at American universities which is vitally needed. At least Trump has made China happy!
In the past, many tech entrepreneurs have been activists in the fight against climate change. Now with Trump in charge, they have all gone silent on what is probably the biggest threat to human survival on the planet. Musk and Bezos want to put colonies on Mars to ensure human survival. Why don’t they open their mouths to convince Trump of the threat to survival that climate change presents on Earth and try to get him to do something about it.
www.robertlevinebooks.com
Buy The Uninformed Voter on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or your local bookstore
ID 69779296 | Cowardice ©
Neosiam | Dreamstime.com
Posted at 09:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Tags: Bezos, billionaires, climate change, global warming, health care, Musk, science, Trump, Zuckerberg
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020