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Those who know I live in the “Cereal Capital of the World” might think the title of this blog is referring to breakfast cereal. Sadly it does not. It refers to mush brained, power hungry, politicians, climate change ideologues, and their frightened minions. The majority of politicians pushing the “Green New Deal” are doing so to frighten and gain control over the lives of constituents. They are ruthless, and will stop at nothing to scare the weak and weak minded among us. (These are the kind of people who are still wearing their useless masks while riding, by themselves, in their cars). Politicians are fully aware that climate change does NOT present an existential threat to mankind. At some point we should wake up. They have been saying the same thing since the 1980s. They also understand that frightened people are more likely to follow edicts, even when those edicts are foolish and outside of the law. There are non-politicians who legitimately believe climate change is an existential threat to civilization. I appreciate their passion, even though I believe it is misguided.

Just to be clear, I am not a climate change denier. I believe the earth’s climate is changing. It has been changing since the beginning of recorded climate history. I believe science and innovation will find ways to mitigate the effect that a growing global population has on the climate. The world is doing a better job of recycling. We are producing fossil fuels in a way that is much more environmentally friendly than just a few years ago. We are producing more efficient gasoline driven vehicles. Let’s not forget our basic biology lessons. Humans breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. Plants take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. It is axiomatic that 8 billion people produce more carbon dioxide than 7 billion. The world is very green today in part because of the extra carbon dioxide.

We must pay attention to what is going on around us. Power hungry elites are working overtime to gain the power necessary to control our lives, and take away our freedom. What they are doing is so absurd, and hypocritical, that it is embarrassing that many Americans can’t see it. Speaking of fruits and nuts let’s take a look at recent happenings in California. Just last week, California Governor Newsom, announced that come 2035, residents will no longer have a choice as to what kind of automobile they can buy. They will be forced to buy electric vehicles as it will be illegal to purchase internal combustion automobiles in the state. Think of the absurdity of the timing of his announcement. A few days later state officials asked Californians to avoid charging their EVs from 4:00 to 9:00 pm over the labor day weekend to help avoid blackouts. There are currently about 29 million light-duty cars and trucks in California. Of that total approximately 1 million, or a little more than 3%, are battery or plug-in vehicles. California politicians have passed pie in the sky laws that will dramatically cut the use of fossil fuels while significantly increasing the demand for electricity. Heat pumps, an alternative to gas fueled water and space heating, are currently used in about 6% of new construction in California. The proposed new construction code will require that heat pumps be the baseline technology to meet state efficiency standards. Starting 1/1/2024 gasoline powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and chain saws, will no longer be available for purchase. All new homes will be required to be built with plug-in ports for EVs. How much more electricity will be needed when the number of EVs and plug-in cars rises ten-fold to 30-40%? What will the demand for electricity be when heat pumps are in 50% instead of 6% of new homes? What will the demand be when all of the lawn services get back to their garages at night and plug in the batteries they used during the day? While this is going on the genius politicians who are in charge of running the state are closing coal and natural gas electricity generation plants. They have shut down all but one of their nuclear power plants. The last one is scheduled to close in 2025. All of these changes limit the choices of Californians, cause energy costs to skyrocket, and make them more dependent on government.

You might shrug and ask why you should care about numbskull decisions made in California. The short answer is because more than a dozen states have chosen to follow many of the California plans. The Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, said she thinks the California fossil fuel reduction plan should be the model the rest of the U.S. follows. (Many Michiganians thought she was clueless when she was our Governor. She is proving that her doltish behavior then was just a warmup for the big leagues). When the Secretary of Energy makes such a comment we should understand that she is mouthing the feelings of her boss.

Why do I suggest this might lead to further infringements of our freedom? As mentioned above we are losing the right to make choices. The government has consistently reduced the size of the autos we purchase. Now they are planning to take away the option of what will power our vehicles. What keeps the government from shutting down your EV because you were sent to Facebook jail for the third time in a month for making the case against being vaccinated for COVID? Ten years ago I wouldn’t have contemplated writing such a thing. Today it is plausible. Just last week thousands of Xcel Energy customers in Colorado discovered their thermostats had been fixed at 78 degrees. Because of an “energy emergency” the company had the right to set the thermostat in private homes. Will they be able to fix the thermostat at 68 or 70 degrees if an emergency arises in the winter? My mother would have thought she was freezing had that happened to her. Going back to ancient times the husband and wife were considered to be the King and Queen of their castle. Today they are increasingly becoming serfs.

We common folk know that fossil fuels will be a part of our economy for many years to come. We also understand that the day will probably come when we will be powered by renewable energy.

I will not take the power hungry elites, or the environmental zealots, seriously until they make a few personal concessions. I believe they know this whole climate change pending “catastrophe” is a hoax. I will begin to take them seriously when they commit to the following: 1. They get rid of their private jets. 2. They limit the number of homes they own, or control, to two. 3. They limit the combined square footage of their 2 homes to 8,000 square feet or less. 4. They limit the number of boats they own, or control, to one that is no longer than 30 feet. Until the elites, who are berating us for our shameful environmental habits do the above, they will be speaking to my deaf ears.

Common sense dictates that fossil fuels will be a part of our economy for many years to come. The day may come when we are powered totally by renewables. That will not happen in most of our lifetimes. Let’s demand the use of all forms of energy to make our lives as livable as possible. Let’s demand that elites stop browbeating us. When EVs prove they are a better value than internal combustion autos, the government won’t need to force people to buy them. Let the market do what it does best.

I hope you found this article interesting and informative. If you did please be sure to tell your friends about it. Thank you, Bob