In the 1970s, Americans were told we were
in a global cooling crisis and if something weren't done,
we'd enter a new ice age.
When that didn't happen, a few decades later we
were told that entire nations
could be wiped off the face of this earth
by rising sea levels if the global warming trend
was not reversed by the year 2000.
Despite the consistent failure
of these apocalyptic warnings,
that hasn't stopped climate change alarmism.
We're now being told we only have 12 years
to combat climate change and the solution
is to fundamentally dismantle the system of free enterprise.
That means Washington controls things
like how we produce energy, what food we eat,
and what type of cars we drive.
The question is, even if we believed their alarmist,
catastrophic predictions, would their proposals even work?
Not according to climate scientists' own models.
Based on those models, even if the United States
cut its carbon dioxide emissions to zero,
it would only avert global warming by a few tenths
of a degree Celsius in 80 years.
We would see no noticeable difference in the climate,
yet it would come at an enormous cost to the American
people.
Climate change is happening and human activity
undoubtedly plays a role,
but big government climate policies are all economic pain,
no environmental gain.
After all, the purpose of climate change regulations
is to drive energy prices higher
so families and businesses use less energy.
Abundant energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas
have allowed Americans to affordably drive to their jobs,
light and heat their homes, and power their refrigerators,
computers, and iPhones.
On the other hand, more heavy-handed climate regulations
would drive up electricity bills
and prices at the pump.
Families would be hurt multiple times over,
paying not just more for energy, but also more for food,
clothing, and health care as energy is critical
for every stage of planting, harvesting,
manufacturing, and transporting goods to consumers.
These rising costs would stifle economic growth.
One of the most important factors
for maintaining a cleaner environment.
As a country's economy grows, the financial ability
of its citizens to take care of the environment grows too.
So creating more economy-killing climate regulations
and taxes would not only harm the livelihoods
of the American people, they would also harm our ability
to protect our environment.
Instead, government should focus
on keeping the economy strong by reducing taxes
and eliminating regulatory barriers
to energy innovation.
For example, some states produce clean, cheap, natural gas
but excessive regulations and litigation
prevent the construction of pipelines
to distribute natural gas to other parts of the country.
Furthermore, competitive electricity markets
can give consumers the option to buy 100% renewable power
if they like, and fixing a broken regulatory system
will allow new, innovate, commercial nuclear technologies
to get off the ground.
This is how we can ensure affordable, reliable,
and cleaner energy.
It's how we can keep our economy growing
and ultimately, it's how we
can ensure a cleaner environment for America.