Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Guardian contributor Megan Mayhew Bergman has written a series of columns about why she thinks Southerners don’t get the climate crisis.
What I learned writing about climate change and the US south for a year
I crisscrossed a region – my own – that is mired in a culture of denial and delay. The conversation on the climate crisis has not changed fast enough.
Megan Mayhew Bergman
Wed 7 Aug 2019 20.00 AEST…
I thought that Hurricane Florence might serve as a turning point in the conversation about the realities of climate change in a region still mired in a culture of denial and delay. After a year of research and reporting, I am not convinced that the conversation has changed fast enough, if much at all. Here in Beaufort, like Miami and Charleston, I encounter deniers, continued waterfront development, hurricane damage and blistering temperatures.
…
I saw more of the south while reporting for this column than I ever saw in my 30 years of living there. My travel reinforced what I already knew: there is no one south. In 2019 it is multitudinous, diverse and still reckoning with its plantation economy and cruel social history. It has PhDs, evangelicals, Trump enthusiasts, environmentalists, artists and activists. It’s this very tension that has often made the south the genesis of social movements; one hopes it might happen again, and soon.
Social and environmental racism, income inequality and poverty are as present as they have ever been, and are only weaponized by climate change, as I reported from Virginia and Natchez, Mississippi.
…
What does a better and more inclusive conversation look like? Non-traditional environmentalists can be critical allies in addressing the culture of climate change denial below the Mason-Dixon Line, like hunters in Arkansas and evangelical Christians in places like St Simons, Georgia. But too often, the perspectives and interests of frontline communities are ignored, further exacerbating the environmental racism so pervasive in the south.
…
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/07/climate-change-us-south-what-i-learned-writing-about-for-a-year
One theme which continues to shock me is how intolerant many allegedly inclusive green liberals are. If you disagree with them about climate change, they say all sorts of vile things about your views and your culture, even if they grew up in that culture as Megan did.
From their perspective — they accept a package deal ideology where you must be a “remainer”, you must vote for leftist politicians, you must support the wars the leftists support, you must accept “climate crisis”, you must think white supremacy everywhere, you must accept and hate “white privilege”, you must demand censorship of “hate speech” — including the hate of “deniers” of climate change. Disagreement with any of these points is violence. Disagreeing with a claim of climate oppression is violence. Not accepting guilt as an evil white is violence. Not being willing to accept unreasonable taxation to pay for socialist programs is violence.
They would love to simply get rid of us all if they could. They do not condone disagreement and they seriously think that the very act of disagreement is a form of violence.
They assume anyone that does not accept their ideology is ignorant and needs to be educated. If they reject the programming they assume its because that person is immoral and a racist, sexist, bigoted, deplorable, monster. Since anyone that rejects their ideology is akin to Nazis — they feel justified to do anything anything and say anything to destroy these sinners. They are puritanical religious zealots for a secular leftist pseudo-religion.
As a lifelong atheist and skeptic – I have a pretty good eye for seeing the earmarks of a cult. The modern left is a cult.
As a lifelong Christian and skeptic – I have a pretty good eye for seeing the earmarks of a cult. The modern left is a cult.
See … Christians and atheists can agree on crucial socio-political issues (as I agree with your post entirely). BTW … the entire notion of “Environmental Justice” is just so much Socialist nonsense intended to transfer wealth from rich to poor. The historic results of those attempts are littered with mountains of skulls.
Kenji, I agree with everything except your last sentence – it isn’t about transferring wealth from the rich to the poor, it’s about transferring wealth from the poor an middle class to the rich.
Rhoda R – yes and no. It is ostensibly about transferring wealth from rich to poor, but everywhere it has been tried the result has been transfer of wealth from poor to rich. But note that the rich then aren’t necessarily the ones who were rich in the first place – they are the ones running the system.
I rather like Churchill’s comment, though it isn’t quite correct: Capitalism delivers wealth unequally; socialism delivers misery equally. (Maybe not Churchill’s exact wording).
Wealthy people tend to fight back? Who knew!
I am a Christian, and having devoted effort to examining this, along the lines I learned with studies in epistemology, I agree that the Green Movement largely is a Cult.
As noted, a hallmark of a cult is that you cannot examine or question the Belief system. Sadly, a great portion of people in Christianity are opposed to questioning the faith, but many of us do carry out strong examinations of the veracity of our faith. In my Bible study class, we openly review the Bible, book by book, verse by verse. We do not hide away from any of it, or wait for anyone to approve what we examine.
In my view, there is such as thing as Environmental Justice. Those with power in business are able to wine and dine those with power in government when plans are getting in place to locate a polluting industry. Traditionally, affected communities have had absolutely no involvement in such processes. Communities with more political savvy and political clout catch wind of such plans, and will oppose a location of some polluting industry. These stakeholders are successful in NIMBY. Not all communities are successful this way.
There is a lot of history of polluting industry locating in areas where the community is poor and African American. If elected representatives start to ask questions or complain, the rep can be disregarded as merely representing a modest community, in terms of votes and political power. The rep must get up to speed and understand a lot of geology, etc. Not too common or likely by most locally elected reps.
Polluting companies purposefully selecting to locate in minority areas, for purposes of political expediency/low NIMBY challenge, illustrates the case for environmental justice.
Let’s not pretend big business polluting companies would not play this game, given the chance.
History maybe, but does it happen NOW? Or any time in the last 50 years?
Here in Indiana the Poor African American areas are decidedly urban. The ‘South Side’ of most of the larger cities, though that’s a generalization. And hardly anyone builds anything in those areas, much less the kind of Industrial area that would be the source of any significant real pollution.
Those kind of factories usually get built these days outside of town, close to a major highway. Ideally you want close enough to town that you workforce can get there with a half hour drive or less, but all the undesirables (poor people, city code enforcers, and anybody else you don’t really want wandering in) are discouraged from making the trip.
Remember, the days of factories filled with near homeless workers are long gone (at least in the First World), most modern factory and Industrial workers are some of the best paid in their country. They can afford to drive to work wherever it would be most convenient to put the place. And the best way to beat NIMBY is to go where there aren’t many Back Yards in the first place.
The author clearly did not study American history.
Industries were not created in poor communities; the “poor” (largely African American) moved from the agricultural south to industrial cities like Detroit and Chicago.
When industries died in those areas (the “why” is a subject for another discussion), the more affluent could move out (many in my community in South Carolina are former Detroit managers and executives) while the poor often do not have the resources to relocate.
The concept of “environmental injustice” is meaningless; it describes a result of many complex factors – not something caused by some group’s oppressive or racially biased policies against another.
Schitzree,
Nice synopsis of Indiana.
I have worked in the State my entire career in the environmental field including water resources, landfills, and mining (big targets of NIMBY). My first experiences with the term Environmental Justice was in the 1990s. Neighborhoods in northwest Indiana identified as being impacted by “big” polluters were often in neighborhoods that were considered middle class prior to and into the 1960s. The poorly defined termed resulted in long delays in clean up plans of large projects like the dredging of contaminated sediment in the Grand Calumet River with minimal changes to the original scheme.
In addition, the neighborhoods in question grew up around heavy industry that provided the jobs that built a middle class life at a time when most people walked to work. I will not even pretend that those industries did not pollute nor to understand all the circumstances that drove the social-economic changes to the neighborhoods in close proximity to heavy industry, but the industry was there before those changes happened. There have been big improvements in the environment: some related to better understanding, some related to regulation, some related to closures, but mostly due to a lot of hard work by the people of the State of Indiana.
Industry locates where land is cheap. No evil intentions involved.
There is no need to invoke racism and classism to explain it.
TheLastDemocrat
Agreed, with the addition that a cult keeps people in line using something called “mind-guarding”. This involves trying to prevent the follower from reading or experiencing anything contradictory, even to the extent of the follower disbelieving their own inclinations to consider all evidence.
The yelling about ” deniers” is not so much about convincing the “opponent’ as demonstrating what will happen to a follower if they are considering disapproved thoughts.
Mind-guards spring into action as soon as they hear a conversation that might tend to lead to independence of thought, leading inevitably to questions about favoured stances. The Communist Party does this by shaming, calling people “Trots” and other pejorative labels associated with structured opposition to the “chosen path”.
Some religious groups use “apostate” and “misled by da debbil”. Note that in the last case, blame is attributed to an external party. Similarly someone who learns to doubt hyperbolic climate catastrophes is supposedly misled by the deniers who are granted super-human attributes of foil and foible. Cults always imagine super-human opponents.
“As noted, a hallmark of a cult is that you cannot examine or question the Belief system.”
I posted earlier a slightly off-topic link to Michael Moore questioning renewable energy:
https://apnews.com/933b49681b0d47d3a005d356f35251ab
We can see what happens to this semi-questioning of the Belief system by one of their heroes. My prediction is that although it appeared on AP, it will be buried without trace by the believers, although I will be sure to keep exhuming the body to wreck these cultists’ days. I’m sure I’m not alone in considering this a kind of sport.
‘Big business’ does not pollute for fun since pollution= waste= expense. CO2 emissions are wasteful and I’ve never encountered a business that didn’t want to save money on energy costs. Show them a cheaper, better, cleaner form of energy and they’ll take it- they’re not monsters. Or- just tax the living hell out of them and drive them out of existence, although I’m not sure where this will get you.
The Last Democrat
I don’t agree with your statement that the Industry was locating in the areas of the minorities. “There is a lot of history of polluting industry locating in areas where the community is poor and African American.” These areas were previously occupied by middle class blue collar working people mostly white and recent immigrants about the time minorities started migrating from the South for JOBS. I grew up in such an area where the soot was deposited on your car every morning. True they are now occupied by minorities but that is because most of us living in row homes increased our wealth and moved into our dream homes in the suburbs. Over my career, I visited many of those industries you talk about. The surrounding communities are old, many walked to work where I lived because they had no need for a car. Today many of those industries have shut down because of government policies making it more attractive to have things made overseas.
I have not seen any evidence of new industry locating in these old communities, there are probably exceptions. In fact the city I grew up in was teaming with jobs and industry, no more.
Which would have been precisely my reply if you hadn’t got there first. But I don’t see cultism as being unique to the Left. Extreme “no-deal” Brexiteers also demonstrate all the behaviours of a cult as do the extreme climate fanatics. Anything that deviates even 0.5° from the core belief system is to be considered anathema and if ever the Leftist/Rightest/ Climate cults get to be in positions of power then the traditional punishments of excommunication, casting out from society, outlawry (in its literal sense that you have no recourse to law and no-one is obliged to act licitly towards you) seem more than probable.
We are entering dangerous waters.
We are entering dangerous waters.
Indeed we are, particularly when one intentionally conflates cause and effect in order to generalise.
Believing that leaving even without a deal, is better than staying, makes one a cultist.
Really?
Yes, as like all cultists, anybody who puts forwards information contrary to their beliefs, is labelled, in this case as a “Remoaner”, with contrary information being part of “Project Fear”.
Their primary sources of information demonise the EU, labelling it “Tyrannical” and “Undemocratic”.
Any alternative, practical arrangement is labelled “BRINO” & as such, is an impure, heretical thought, Proponents of “BRINO” are denigrated .
There’s a conspiracy to keep us tied to an EU that is in imminent danger of collapse, we should leave immediately & laugh at those who stay, as they fall into anarchy & poverty.
Do I exaggerate? If you think so, go read “Guido Fawkes”.
Went to public university in the early seventies. Saw lots of cults in operation, almost got sucked into one myself. Many times I’ve reflected how the true believers in climate change think and behave in a cult-like manner.
A member of one cult, recognises another cult.
Visions of concentrations camps dance in their heads complete with gas chambers for all of the evil deniers.
Only gases that do not emit any c02 allowed in those chambers.
Better yet use that evil gas to complete the deed! Those deniers will be shown how bad it is!!
Drake: “Better yet use that evil gas [CO2] to complete the deed! Those deniers will be shown how bad it is!!”
I challenge you to see how long you can go without consuming any Carbon that was ultimately sourced from CO2.
– vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, i.e. plants all utilize photosynthesis to extract Carbon from CO2
– herbivores consume plants (see above)
– carnivores consume herbivores which consume plants (see above)
– carbonated beverages contain CO2
Carbon Based Life Forms participate in the Carbon Cycle of Life and the Carbon Cycle of Life cannot complete without CO2.
CO2 feeds life.
You see it all the time people define things as they see them not as how they are or actually defined. Why it comes up so much with Climate Science is because it covers a wide range of fields from physics, geology, economics, engineering and biology most are out of there depth somewhere. So what happens is they take a view which is just a belief from others it is not something they actually understand.
If you want a funny discussion for example ask a lefty like Loydo or Nick Stokes to explain “fair” in emission control? That questions covers a huge number of fields which each have there own arguments but they can’t think beyond the answer they have been told.
Another interesting one is ask them if China does decide to put down riots in Hong Kong by force does it effect climate change and emission control policy?
Yes I’ve tried to ‘unpack’ the CAGW ‘package’ to discuss details when engaging in conversations with “believers”
In most cases, they just won’t entertain ANY divergence from “the package” (“THE science”; 100% wind & solar; 100% electric vehicles; etc, etc)
The CAGW disciples are no different than those who totally accepted (and argued for) the “virgin conception” tenet of the catholic religion.
Follow the links in the above article to have a gander at some of the other recent stuff she has written on the subject of “climate change”.
But only if you are in a good mood.
This woman has written articles questioning why anyone is still living in the south, what with the climate crisis and all, how people in Florida are not noticing their state being submerged under the waves even as she speaks, and lots more about how hurricanes are proof of CAGW.
Not a bad looking woman, but she is drowning in the Kool-Aid.
In her mind, having a conversation about climate change means she tells people what the facts are, and if they disagree then they are wrong, period.
She speaks in the present tense about “Florida drowning”, even after living for several months in Miami, where any jackass can see that the ocean is exactly where it has always been. There is not a single place that is “drowning”, or that even has any visually detectable change in the level of the sea.
Facts and evidence mean nothing to people like this.
They have been told what to think, and they will likely never ever consider the possibility they are wrong, let alone admit to themselves they have been duped.
It is nearly impossible for someone who thinks of themselves as intellectually superior to EVER acknowledge any information that would cast doubt on this self image.
Their brain will invent actual hallucinations rather than have their ego be confronted with such a humbling experience.
Ha! Yes I live on another coastal region in the Gulf South, as does my entire extended family, many of whom drive boats or fish for a living. People are writing articles all the time about how our small towns are drowning or washing away? News to us as we are still living there?
Well said. But there’s also the delusion factor. A mental construct (climate change) has the ability to “weaponize” things. Or is it that deniers are weaponizing climate change? (I really don’t want to expend the time or synapses to wade through the cesspool of their reasoning) This is really mass hysteria on a biblical scale. If things are really this imminently disastrous it’s not that much of a leap of thought to begin “removing” the deniers in the way of climate progress. Btw: I live in Ontario Canada and weather wise it’s been a beautiful summer. Since the beginning of this impending climate apocalypse I have yet to see any actual sign of it. But that’s because it doesn’t actual begin in the weather…it begins in the mind.
Bergman heard exactly what she wanted to hear and projected her own biases onto everyone else. This is the basis of false news and is a component of yellow journalism.
That’s right, Bergman is seeing what she expects to see.
She apparently doesn’t have much respect for the intelligence of her fellow southerners. I wonder if it ever crossed her mind that those good ole boys and girls might know something she doesn’t know.
She keeps useing that word. I do not think it means what she thinks it means.
~¿~
One way “conversation” is more like a lecture. She only wants to hear her own voice.
We’ve seen these people so many. ‘Yada yada racism blistering hot crisis’. They go complain on waterfront development as if it were their own. Hey, come here North, there’s awful lot of snow, ice, sleet, slush, new ice, pack ice, hard snow, fluffy snow, powder snow here, and an awesome short summer with a single 85F day. Come enjoy the not-blistering winter. You can write your opinion pieces here, though swimming in open waters in here might mean you’d need an axe to start with a hole to frozen waters.
Welcome, honestly, if you suffer from the so blistering hot South and its huntable deplorables, who don’t converse to your enjoyment.
She really seems surprised that summers are hot in the South.
Me thinks Megan B is simply trying to impress her Vermont associates by trying to deny her “30 year southern Appalachian roots”.
What she doesn‘t realize is, moving out of the “hills” doesn’t erase one’s “hillbilly” heritage in the minds of the elite thinking social/educational phonies. .
What she doesn‘t realize is, moving out of the “hills” doesn’t erase one’s “hillbilly” heritage in the minds of the elite thinking social/educational phonies. .
What it apparently has done is erase the generations of skeptical folk wisdom she should have retained.
“I saw more of the south while reporting for this column than I ever saw in my 30 years of living there.”
So she really has no reference point but it is worse than she thought.
Bergman never forgot her heritage ……. but when her Vermont peers/associates requested she write a report about the “environmental mindset” of the Appalachian people ….. she had to plead ignorance to CHA.
Had an experience last weekend where a very subtle message was sent by Dr. Ben Carson on complimenting his granddaughter for joining the Trump Women supporters group. We shared the message on Facebook and within an hour it was removed. Message from Carson below:
We are very proud of our daughter-in-law, Merlynn Carson, who has joined the Trump Women’s Board for the campaign. We hope more young people will get involved with helping to right the course of our country in the future. Regardless of one’s political affiliation, it is so important that we educate ourselves about the issues so that we cannot be easily manipulated and deceived. The forces that want to change our country in a fundamental way are clever and strategically take advantage people who do not study the issues for themselves. We are fighting not only for today, but also for our children and their children and all of those who come after us.
https://www.facebook.com/704375189/posts/10157993872995190/
My point, the true facts do not get published or disseminated except by Blogs such as this. The Liberals control the Mainstream News and present only the Politically Correct side of issues. Thank you for your post!
Facebook is way bigger than any of the mainstream media (MSM) companies. link
Some bloggers have bigger audiences than anybody on the MSM. link
Just saying.
I was under the impression that the likes of Fox News presented the President’s view of things, pretty much – is that no longer ‘mainstream’?
Fox News in its own terminology appears to distance itself from the main stream, like the leftist CNN, the Guardian, and the NYT. The main stream, on the other hand, has been distancing itself from Fox News, apparently fearing that Fox reveals the deeply partisan approach of the main stream.
Fox frequently publishes critic against Trump, so it’s not perfect but the second best. 🙂
Obviously the mainstream spelling might differ from mine.
“Fox frequently publishes critic against Trump, so it’s not perfect”
So are you saying if a news company publishes something negative about Trump it is behaving less than “perfectly?”
Sure, love.
It never was, except in Griffland.
Griff. Fox News is a voice in the wilderness. But it’s a very loud voice and a lot of people like what it’s saying. Wiley old Fox.
On all Fox shows with panels, usually one person (at least) from the liberal/Democratic, etc. side is represented. Many of their news interviews have 2 individuals side by side on camera with opposing viewpoints, which how Fox can claim “Fair and Balanced:
If you look at the other so called news stations (CNN, MSNBC), you see much, much less representation of differing viewpoints being presented. It’s all the same folks.
Fox has Juan Williams (fired from so-called balanced NPR for being on Fox) and now Donna Brazile, who often has the opportunity to present her views on stand-alone interviews.’
Yes, Fox has commentators who are conservative. But some of them are really funny!
To be fair Fox does have Chris Wallace and a couple of others who present more unbiased reporting. But I have to laugh at the bleating from some here. They have very short memories. I watch a range of media sources and Fox (in the same way CNN does now with Trump) would never give Obama a break. They didn’t seem to object to the biased reporting then.
It’s time for the president and congress to crack down on these social media platforms. They are censoring the news to favor one political party and they should be forced to stop doing this, or at the least, have the light shone on their activities. They think they are “Masters of the Univese”. We should show them they are not.
One of the first tactics the authoritarians engage in to gain and keep power is to shut down the conversation of the oppostion by hook or by crook. That’s what is happening right now with Social Media and the Leftwing News Media.
These Leftwing Social Media monopolies should be broken up.
The Left is now using charges of Racism to shut down their opponent’s conversation with the public, and to again promote more gun control legislation; Biden has gone so far as to say that if he wins presidential office he is coming after “your” assault weapons. And of course they do this because they’ve lost the argument on facts – they can’t win, so they resort to ad hominem attacks of racism, and obfuscating with irrelevant disinformation.
The left has redefined assault rifle down so much that any weapon that doesn’t have to be re-loaded between each firing qualifies.
The political spectrum as defined by the left.
Communism – Socialism – Far Right – Extreme Right.
“It’s time for the president and congress to crack down on these social media platforms. ”
Isn’t that what happens in Trumps “best fwends” county North Korea?
Dare I say, I’m pretty sure young Megan never actually grew up. She’s terrified of what the rest of us refer to as “weather”, and so convinced of her very rightness, she can’t see anything else. As they say, fanatics can’t see ANYTHING from another point of view.
Yep, her whole being seems to be predicated upon the fact that there is a “climate crisis”.
There isn’t one in the real world.
The “climate crisis” is more properly identified as a “mental health crisis”, afflicting the consensus believers to a greater or lesser extent.
The author mentions the horses on Shackleford Banks to try to drive home some point. While there once I saw the biggest piles of horse poo I had ever seen. It was astonishing. They were so massive it was like they took a dump once a year. The only thing that even comes close in size is this author’s pile of crap article.
I have dated liberal women, they go on and on about how tolerant they are, but as soon as you disagree with them they show they are really very intolerant, they are hypocrites.
Leftists don’t have any tolerance for anything or anyone who challenges their beliefs. They think they have the moral highground and the correct view of reality and God help you if you disagree with them because they will see you as an enemy that needs to be neutralized by any means necessary. You are a danger to their belief system and that cannot be tolerated. That’s what Trump is, a danger to their belief system. A big danger, and they know it, and that’s another reason they go after him with everything they can muster.
But it’s like water off a duck’s back: Trump is pushing 50 percent approval despite the best efforts of the Democrats and the Leftwing Media over the last three years.
I think the Left in the United States and in the other Western democracies have gone stark raving insane. There’s an old saying about the Madness of Crowds” which basically says people go mad (insane) in crowds, and come to their senses one at a time.
When I would read those words I always thought you had to be a member of a physical crowd in order to be overwhelmed with madness, because it’s like a riot, where a gathering of people can act with a singlemindedness, almost as one individual over some goal.
I inadvertently got caught up in a small riot in Honolulu (at what used to be the Shell) once and was amazed at my own reaction. I would never have thought that something like that would emotionally affect me, but it did, although I maintained enough control that I didn’t do anything foolish or illegal.
My buddy, who is one of the most laid-back guys you could meet, actually got caught up in the riot to the point that he climbed a chainlink fence (the cops were behind the chainlink fence trying to keep the rioters outside from tearing it down and coming inside). My friend got over the fence, I don’t know what he thought he was going to do once he got over there (the emotion of the moment) and he was promptly maced by the police and they threw him back over the fence!
Anyway, to relate that to today, I think we don’t need be in physical crowds to go crazy anymore because we have a virtual crowd on the internet that is driving a good percentage of the population mad, mainly on the Left.
College educated liberal women are monsters. They’re the worst of the worst. I can’t tell you how many women have confided in me that they would prefer their sons try dating women who have to work for a living instead of these ironically most-privileged children of rich people. Look at all of the really, really messy divorces in your local area.
Biatches be cray-cray.
They are concerned about the progress of prophecy and diversity. The practice of “science” outside the near-domain, and the debasement of individuals through color judgments (e.g. racism), respectively. That said, “too many white girls next door”, right, Guardian? They need to do a thorough introspection, and lose their Pro-Choice, selective, opportunistic quasi-religion.
Ah yes, flogging white Southerners for their alleged indifference to climate change. How creative! How original! Couple that to inaccurate statements like, “Income inequality and poverty are as present as they have ever been,” and you end up with a sad, murky stew of guilt-tripping, non-science, and non-progress.
100 years ago, much of the South was still without electricity, barefoot country folk were infested with hookworm, and millions of seasonal laborers picked cotton by hand. Those hardships are gone now, replaced by modern improvements. If Ms. Bergman grew up there, doesn’t she know that? I recently visited Atlanta, which is more integrated than any Northern city I can think of.
As for the allegedly imminent catastrophe of climate change, essayists like Ms. Bergman harp on the perils of carbon dioxide, as if it were the only factor worth discussing, and as if CO2 weren’t an atmospheric gas necessary to all life. No one knows what the optimum CO2 level is. Plus, alarmists make the mistake of mentioning individual weather events within the range of normal, as if they “prove” anything, which they don’t.
Harping on CO2 emissions while omitting the fact that China has added more coal capacity in the last 20 years than the U.S. has in total, then insisting that U.S. regulations can save the world, is like two fleas arguing over which one owns the dog. China also has 100 million more people living close to sea level than the U.S. does, and a climate that “naturally” runs to greater extremes. Does Ms. Bergman think the Chinese are stupid, in denial, or racist?
No mention either, of nuclear power, the world’s largest source of electric generation that does not emit CO2. Does Ms. Bergman believe coal, gas, and nuke-hating Americans can save the world no matter what the other 96% of the world’s people do?
The political Left are one trick ponies. And the trick is vile and vicious.
It always was; and always will be. If you’re not in agreement with the meme du jour (always radical; always anti establishment), then you’re free game.
All we have to remember about the Left, whatever hobby horse they’re riding, is that their default position is authoritarianism.
Revolutionary France, Communism, Nazism and Fascism, the greatest mass killers of the past 250 years have all been diseases of the political Left.
And before anyone squeals Nazism is politically Right, go and do some research.
We should be very afraid of the Left’s riding the Climate Change bandwagon. Very, very afraid.
What Bergman missed completely is that those of us in the South have a good bit more common sense that anyone on the Left but especially her. Also most Southerner tend towards skepticism most especially if the government is involved. Both common sense and skepticism drives those on the Left nuts. They have spent years through our education system to eliminate both if at all possible.
Yes . You dropped that round right down the hatch of the target vehicle !
😉
+42 ++ :<)
That’s why they hate you. It’s where progressivism has always died and will again. It’s also why they’re trying everything they can to disarm you.
I didn’t know the south of England was like that.
That’s true. Guardian is propaganda press based in England, projecting their wonts and bigotry globally, but especially to America, which remains a delectable fruit among the world’s nations.
Wow, scorching heat in the South. Why, that never happened before, bless her little heart.
Nice job smearing an entire culture and society as backwards, knuckle dragging bohunks just because they don’t swallow the Green Blob propaganda hook, line, and sinker. Not being gullible is a sin now to the Left.
By the way, I was born and raised in the South, still live here. Guess my physics degree and experience doing atmospheric modeling for a DoD project don’t count since I don’t have the “right” opinions and am one of those knuckle dragging Southerners.
As the bumper sticker says, We Don’t Car How Y’all Do It Up Nawth, or in the UK, or anywhere else.
I have the pleasure of working with several Southerners.
I know what it means when you say “Bless her little heart”. 😉
As for the article, a waste of ink (or electrons, whatever the case).
Heh…I knew some would understand. I realize that back when I did that modeling, I was unduly burdened by my customer requiring that the predictions of my model actually, you know, predicted, that is, matched reality. When my model fell short, I had to modify the model until it was correct, I wasn’t able to say “who you going to believe, my beautiful model or your own lying eyes” or adjust the real world data to match my model. Oh the humanity!
And anyone who thinks Pascagoula is a sleepy little town has never lived there …
😉
I enjoy that Ray Stevens song about Pascagoula.
Thank you for my smile of the day. ‘Bless her little heart.’ indeed.
Blistering heat is what she said, which is clearly a lie.
I challenge her to show a single person who has ever been blistered merely from the air temp of a southern state.
The South, where saying “Aren’t you just special” isn’t a compliment.
You said it. Born, raised educated in the South.
I’ve heard nothing but how dumb Southerners are, how racist they are, etc for all of my life. I’m responsible for every evil in the world since 1200 BC.
Frankly, when I hear crap like this self-fulfillment of existing prejudices, I just turn it off.
Megan might claim some connection with Dixie, but fortunately she has moved to more “liberal” parts, thereby raising the average intelligence of both regions.
I commented on a global warming article in the Guardian last week – adhered to their posting guidelines but post was removed after a few minutes as I disagreed with the gist of the article. ‘Nuff said about the Guardian.
Someone get her a helmet so that maybe that concussion will have time to heal.
The problem is the censors: They are all leftist ideologues.
What job at NPR is she angling for?
I am from the deep south
[South-Africa]
click on my name to read my report to understand why I don’t believe in man made global warming anymore
With respect Henry, perhaps what you mean is “The data does not support the conclusion that ……”
Leave the religious language to the cultists where it belongs.
All they have left are insults and temper tantrums.
From Sanders and Warren (Mr and Mrs Angry) all the way down.
Don’t you mean temperature tantrums.
Tucson was hot this summer so is my wife
God bless us all let the lefties fall
I am a true Son if the South, my family having homesteaded in Mississippi in the early 1800s. Living near the Mississippi gulf coast I survived both Camille and Frederick. I worked on road crews during the summer under conditions that would probably kill me now. I have visited as much of the South and am still discovering it’s beauty and wonderful inhabitants. I now live in Kentucky. The temperature is no hotter than it used to be. The storms are no stronger than they used to be. The bugs are no stingier than they used to be. I’m just getting older and less able to tolerate them.
The author claims the South as her ‘region’ then shows her abysmal ignorance and dismissal of the people who live there. With apologies to my very good friend Steve who is a native of Vermont, the woman needs to stay there and leave us ignorant Southern deniers alone.
Notice Bergman says she has girls. Why does a leftist climate alarmist have kids? Oh wait, it is okay for liberals to have kids, just not you little unwashed people.
From Russia, Russia, Russia to Racist, Racist, Racist. The Left’s new mantra.
Good commies should love Russia, but now they call conservatives too Russian. What irony. First they are shamed of their ‘white’ ‘race’, then they’ll tell we’re racists.
And another thing! She says she is traveling around…how? By bicycle I hope, no I bet by car, and using fossil fuel to do it, the HYPOCRITE. She seems to be surprised that it is hot (96 F) in the south in the summer, maybe she should move to Alaska. Or maybe she should go on a world tour (fly first class) and preach to all the little people to stop using fossil fuels.
John, she’s also only 30 years old and raised when air conditioning was well established and commonplace; the rule rather than the exception.
Those of us in our 50s, 60s, and up were raised in a time where A/C was a rare exception and not the rule. I didn’t get my first airconditioned car until I was 34. The wife and I had a starter and a move-up home before we bought our 3rd house that had central air.
How did I ever survive summers down near Victoria Texas when I was a kid, barefoot no less?
I am 65 and grew up in Georgia, without AC until my Mom got a couple of window units in the 1980s, after my Dad passed. My sister and I each had a bedroom in the attic and there wasn’t even an attic fan until the early 1970s. My bedroom had windows on three sides, but – before the attic fan – if there ain’t no breeze, you almost might as well have had no windows. I tried a window fan, but I fell asleep with it on and early the next morning, the smell of smoke awakened me. The motor had frozen up and it was “hummin’ and smokin'” when I unplugged it and kicked it out the window. We somehow survived the heat.
And our parents didn’t get their first new car with AC until 1968, after they had been married 20 years.
“Environmental racism” – two for the price of one! I don’t whether to laugh, cry, or vomit.
I can get my ahead around the concept of ‘environmental justice’ – some problems hurt the poor more than the rich – but environmental racism? The weather discriminates by race? The sun shines only on the whites? What on earth is she trying to say?
I wonder if these are just keywords to get her article higher up the search ratings, or to get her more brownie points.
They all eat from the same trough and regurgitate the same talking points. There is no critical thought involved. They know what their editors expect, and they won’t have a job if they deviate from script.
The only injustice I can think of offhand would be the >billion people who have little to no access to reliable, adequate energy to lift them out of poverty, which is why I call the alarmist plan to keep it that way the worst kind of neocolonialism. As for your second paragraph, I think yes and yes. 🙂
The Left has racism broken down into numerous categories now. They want to spread their hate speech to all areas of life.
The elitist arrogance and ignorance expressed by Megan Mayhew Bergman in her Guardian screed illustrates full well the political foundation of her unfounded cries of impending doom from ‘climate change’. The childish certainty of her baseless assertions is endemic to the ‘social justice warrior’ mind set. Her’s are not the writings or actions of a disciplined, wise, and rational mind.