Ludington Climate Accord?

[XLFD]

Despite the conservative nature of Mason County, which predominantly elects Republicans to office and led to a 22% point victory by Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential elections, we still have a lot of liberal/progressive agencies that are trying to change our basic character.  While there is nothing wrong with the honest debate of disparate ideas between individuals, it becomes disquieting when otherwise non-partisan public bodies are influenced to endorse policies that not only are against the majority of their constituents' beliefs, but also potentially costly and divisive to the community.

A recent case in point was this year's forced last-minute vote by the Ludington City Council to endorse the shut-down of Enbridge's Line Five Pipeline, a conduit of oil and natural gas whose rupture would admittedly have no negative environmental effects on Ludington.  If the casual Mason County citizen was provided all the facts from both sides, they may have found the potential dangers outweighed by the benefits.  Here, a City of Ludington (COL) councilor (Kathy Winczewski) who is part of a local so-called 'friends of the environment' group pushed the envelope and snuck the resolution in, the local paper (the City of Ludington Daily News or COLDNews), strongly represented also in that group, deflected the appearance of controversy.

The COLDNews will undoubtedly team with her in the future to pass partisan resolutions, but their current ally in pushing forth unpopular topics are a bunch of schoolkids in the county's newest school.  The Gateway to Success (G2S) in the renovated Del's Foods market just north of Scottville had their students conduct a poll made up of seven questions they drafted concerning the Paris Climate Accord (PCA) and its inherent policies.  If it were only a school project it would not be of concern, but the COLDNews 'helped' them get wider opinion on their polls by putting it up on their website an action that may signify future local policy with the COL.  We will review that poll shortly.

President Donald Trump has indicated the US will opt out of the PCA, saying it's a bad deal for the US to get into.  He supports that by saying how it negatively affects jobs, costs Americans money, and doesn't accomplish its stated goals, among other reasons.  Such observations and Republican-controlled federal legislatures have triggered the other side into seeking other ways to get the PCA ideals and objectives into American thought by encouraging local government units to sign on.  The Ludington City Council has shown it would likely sign on to such a resolution to accept the PCA, being that it supported several progressive causes such as the Enbridge resolution and the banal 'All Hands on Deck' protest earlier this year.  

Here is what the COLDNews poll indicates as of 7:00 PM on December 3, 2017, with the questions lightly paraphrased, and the responses condensed ('strongly support' and 'support', for example, would be 'yes', 'neutral' or 'don't know' are dropped).  Analysis follows:

Should the COL vote to sign onto the Paris Climate Accord?  Yes 62, No 48

Should the COL send letters to remind people to save electricity?  Yes 35, No 25

Should the COL encourage people to use non-motorized transportation?  Yes 44, No 16

Should the COL test home upgrades for energy-efficiency?  Yes 41, No 22

Should the COL make changes to streets to boost walkability?  Yes 43, No 14

Should the COL implement new energy-efficiency construction standards, sanction multifamily homes, and retro-fitting to save energy?  Yes 42, No 23

Should the COL adopt a 100% renewable energy policy?  Yes 34, No 12

As you can see, everybody voted for each of these PCA-friendly topics in the affirmative, suggesting to the observer that these ideas are popular with the people of the area.  Yet, assuredly, most of our county's population would be a bit foggy on what exactly is the PCA and the ramifications of signing onto it is.  Most haven't contemplated what the cost of moving to 100% renewables would be.  Others might change their mind about letters if they saw how much electricity/gas it would take to make and distribute the letters, which few would read anyhow.  

Many more would resent the intrusions into their homes, and any sort of home they may construct later.  But this is by no means a scientific poll, in fact, the title of the article likely attracts those who are for the PCA more than those opposed to it.  The questions avoid the collateral issues most infer, encouraging 'yes' answers and/or discouraging 'no' responses.  They are geared so that it would make city leaders think these ideas are their constituents' wishes and that they should draft their own resolution to please them, as this Oberlin, OH resolution in support of PCA did. 

But as President Trump has noted, the PCA has drawbacks, and those who support it rely on a lot of fallacies to rob the citizens of their money and their rights.  In this article, it reveals seven fallacies of the PCA, and does a fair job of explaining why the opposite is more true.  

It’s all about science -- it's about politics and power

We should stay in because the accords are mostly symbolic anyway-- not to its true believers

Pulling out would violate international norms-- it would restore US rule of law

Pulling out of the accords is a sin against Gaia-- more of a sin against socialism

We must stay in the accords to demonstrate American “leadership"-- leaders withdraw when wise

We have to stay in Paris so the kids do not turn against environmentalism-- or leftist dogma

We should stay in because China loves it-- China loves the economic advantages it gives them

But even if a scientific poll was conducted on citizens who had access to all of the facts from both sides at their disposal, and it was determined that the vast majority of them did not support the PCA deal or most of the other questions in this poll, it would only take four councilors to come to the opposite conclusion for them to vote to make Ludington resolve to become a signer of the Paris Climate Accords.  Like all socialist-friendly politicians, they love the power such a vote gives them.

And you know that at least four would if given the chance, given the current make-up of the council, and their willingness to latch on to these partisan exercises.  Don't be surprised when you read about this resolution coming before the council one of these days in the near future in the weekend's COLDNews, to be voted on that Monday.

[RK Hubbard]

Willy, nobody is advocating the elimination of fossil fuels. They will always be needed. What renewable technologies do is reduce the carbon signature of expensive fossil fuels by using new technologies that harness free renewable energy. Once the infrastructure is in place, the energy is free except for system maintenance. Solar, wind, nuclear, geothermal, and hydro power are all part of an integrated system that does not rely on any single source, making virtually free power available 100% of the time. The entire nation of Spain recently went a full day on 100% renewable power and sold the excess. China is building more renewable power than the rest of the world combined. Energy security is a national security requirement. Renewable energy is inevitable because it is cheaper. Fossil fuels are expensive, finite, subject to repeated failure at immense costs (e.g. Santa Barbara, Exxon Vadez, Deepwater Horizon), and subject to political whims (e.g. DJT causes the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, upsetting global markets and jacking up our gasoline bill by $1.00 per gallon). I have 25 solar panels on my roof that supply 100% of my electricity, heat, and EV power. I pay $149 per month total, instead of separate $250 bills for electricity and oil, saving me $3-5,000 every year, forever. 

[RK Hubbard]

You may want to read the following article: 

https://www.factcheck.org/2019/07/does-wind-work-without-subsidies/

[Leonor Johny]

Public officials and community directors often juggle a lot of variables when making decisions that affect residents. Transparency and clear frameworks help people understand priorities and intentions, especially when plans or policies have long‑term impacts.

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