I Was Worried Trump Might Win In 2020, Then I Read This…

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Yahoo had great jingle in the 1990s. Well, it was just one guy in a high-pitched voice singing, “YAAAAHHOOOO!” For the last decade, Yahoo has gone steadily downhill. It is the home of the worst type of trolls. It is full of gossip and horrendous race baiting. They will write anything to get a few clicks. They are fantastic at clickbait, but pathetic on substance.

Nevertheless, out of some old subconscious habit, I still foolishly go to Yahoo to read some news. Once in a blue moon, they publish some decent reporting. Yahoo reporter Michael Walsh covered French President Emmanuel Macron’s speech to Congress. In his report, Walsh provided this KEY insight:

“On June 1, 2017, Trump followed through on that promise (to leave the Paris Climate Accord) and announced that he was beginning that process. However, under the agreement, a nation cannot submit its withdrawal until three years after it enters into force for that party — which was Nov. 4, 2016, for the U.S. Therefore, Trump needs to wait until Nov. 4, 2019, to formally request the nation’s removal. It would become official on Nov. 4, 2020.”

So, two days before the 2020 election will be the first day we have technically left the Paris Accord! This will be very helpful to mobilize the environmental community, and provide strong motivations for progressives to bite the bullet should we have to support a likely establishment Democratic candidate.

Not to bring up old debates, but to simply state the general consensus on the 2016 election: In her 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton did not provide a clear vision for environmental policy other than continuing the Clean Power Plan and installing some amount of solar panels. Beyond that, she had stood against powerful grassroot environmental movements.

During the peaceful and well-organized protest of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Clinton did nothing while water protectors were brutally beat by thugs. She scoffed at the idea of a ban on fracking. Her hand-selected delegates fought having a carbon tax even put on the Democratic platform. Putting it on the platform was merely symbolic. It is only getting policy changed that really matters. However, she was so fearful of the oil and gas industry (or political backlash) that she refused to even stand for the most reasonable solution to the problem of climate change.

Perhaps Clinton was just trying to divide and conquer the fossil fuel industry by only going after coal first. Maybe after coal approached its death she might later swing back to tackle oil and natural gas. Whether we were right or wrong, I doubted that and so did numerous progressives. Nevertheless, most of us voted for her. However, we could not bring ourselves to volunteer for her.

For Sanders, we gave money. We phonebanked. We stood in line for hours to see him. We posted nonstop on social media. We enthusiastically supported the environmental policies he clearly laid out in great detail. We travelled hundreds or thousands of miles to swing states to help out however we could.

After Clinton lost, she never apologized for cheating Sanders or admitted to her Machiavellian crimes. After losing to the most pathetic presidential candidate in modern history (Donald Trump), Clinton and the DNC have spent two years blaming Russia, Sanders, Facebook, Comey, and the list goes on and on. Clinton and the DNC have never done a proper “autopsy” (at least not publicly, but seemingly at all), which is why I have been fearing that Trump may win a second term.

However, just getting back into the Paris Accords is going to be an extreme motivation for the progressives and many independents to accept what will likely be a massively imperfect Democratic candidate. If the candidate is anything like Bernie Sanders or Bernie Sanders himself, I would bet money we would get back both houses with perhaps even a filibuster-proof Senate.

But back to Macron’s superb speech. For me, it was the biggest news in a while, though was greatly overshadowed by the typical nonsense on mainstream news. Macron gave me hope that whatever the US does, the world will trudge (walk with a purpose) towards a sustainable future. Of course, US promises will likely be kept no matter what the political environment, because cleantech is unstoppable. States, cities, groups, and individuals have picked the slack, and will continue to do so if necessary. But US policy is important too.

To read Yahoo reporter Michael Walsh’s full story and listen a portion Marcon’s speech, click here.


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Kurt Lowder

I am a jock turned wannabe geek. I fell in love with science later in life thanks to the History Channel show the “Universe.” Having taught middle school science, I strongly feel Astronomy should be taught every year because nothing excites students more than learning about the cosmos. I became an avid cleantech fan because it gives me hope about the future. My wife, my dogs, and I live simply because we love to travel the world backpacker style.

Kurt Lowder has 58 posts and counting. See all posts by Kurt Lowder