The Suffering of the World's Poor and Oppressed Continues Under Climate Change Colonialism

For the cost of the "green transition", we could end world hunger, eradicate poverty, and electrify all of Africa, and still have trillions of dollars left over.

If there's one universal truth, it's this: Everyone loves a hero - the guy with the solution. Usually that's because the problem he (or she) has solved is a problem that has genuinely vexed mankind for much too long and now we can finally look forward to easier days ahead, thanks to his (or her) wonderful solution.

But what if the problems currently plaguing humankind (or “peoplekind” if you prefer) have stubbornly defied every would-be hero for decades? I’m referring to problems such as homelessness, world hunger, poverty, millions of people freezing to death each and every winter, and so on. As much as we’d like to see these things taken care of, it seems that no hero has yet appeared on the horizon to take care of this for us.

But still, people need a hero, and nature (as they say) abhors a vacuum. So, while these are legitimate problems, an even bigger problem is this: those of the ruling class aren’t generally the ones experiencing these problems, at least not directly. And maybe these problems really are just too big for any one hero to solve in a meaningful way.

When this happens, rather than admit defeat, it’s usually easier (and much more politically expedient) for rulers to come up with a different problem that they actually can solve. It’s also a big help if they already have the solution in mind before they even identify the problem. Then all they have to do is make sure that the general populace is terribly concerned (if not outright terrified) about this alleged problem before they unveil their proposed solution.

This kind of thing actually happens a lot. Usually we call it “a distraction”. If one would care to look, it can prove to be a source of great entertainment for the cynical, or a source of great distress for everyone else, which is probably the reason most people don’t really care to look.

Currently in the western world, the biggest problem (we are told) is the perennial issue of Climate Change (notice that I’ve capitalized those words, so you have no reason to doubt the severity of the issue). Perhaps “perennial” isn’t quite the right term, since this might imply that the climate only changes dramatically at certain times of year (e.g., summer or winter) and we definitely don’t want people getting the idea that they can just wait a few months for the weather to become more hospitable. No, this is surely an ongoing threat, some would even say an existential threat. Just so we’re clear - that word, “existential” means that it threatens our very existence. If you think this sounds like government propaganda, well, you didn't hear it from me.

So, now that we’ve established precisely how scared you should be (very scared), we can let you in on the good news, namely that the government is here to swoop in and help. Yes, heroes still exist, only now instead of living in their aunt’s attic or in a stately mansion on the hill where they can safely brood over the city, they occupy the Prime Minister’s Office, and other government headquarters around the globe.

I think it's safe to say that the issue of Climate Change really has taken over the hearts and minds of millions of people the world over. And yes, many of these people are indeed terrified of what's to come.

One interesting aspect of all the excitement about Climate Change is that the people most worried about it also happen to be the people who don't have a lot of real problems of their own to deal with. Given this circumstance, it's almost like they're begging for any sort of crisis that would cause them some measure of legitimate concern. I mean, who could pass up the chance to band together with other unfortunates and make the best of a terribly dire situation? And all while they update their various social media accounts to reflect how rough it really is for them on the front lines and the incalculable good they're doing for the rest of society while they take on this huge challenge. It gives them a reason to use and reuse that old adage, “We’re all in this together,” and then also to call out all those who are not part of the proverbial “all” so that everyone knows who’s really at fault.

Ask anyone who's struggling to pay bills and feed their family and pay the rent how concerned they are about Climate Change and I'm sure you'll find that they're not. At all. This goes for most people in third world countries as well - even those who live on tiny islands in the south pacific. To be fair, some of these people possibly are concerned about it, but most of them are likely the aforementioned would-be heroes in government.

Germany is a great example of this. They were all gung-ho for renewables so long as they had access to Russian oil. When that dried up, it took them about nine months to build a floating station to receive imported liquid natural gas while they were powering their nation with coal plants. Evidently saving the planet with solar and wind isn't so attractive when you're freezing to death.

Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney seems to believe that we need to raise 100 trillion dollars for a “green transition”. Here he is telling the COP26 Glasgow Summit in 2021 that “the money is there”:

We have banks, asset managers, pension funds, insurance companies from around the world — more than 45 countries — and their total resources, totalling $130 trillion US. So one of the key messages of this COP is: the money is there.

If you're not quite clear on what one hundred trillion dollars looks like as a number, this is it (and please notice that it's not just a number, since there is also a dollar sign immediately to the left of it):

In case you're curious (and because context is always nice), the gross domestic product of the entire world is currently at about 96 trillion dollars. This fact alone should make it very obvious whose money they're coming after, because guess who it is that contributes to world GDP? Yup, it’s you and me.

I’m sure you're probably wondering (as I was) what we might need all this money for. Well, according to the United Nations, the purpose is:

to help drive the transformation of the world's economy from fossil fuels to a new age powered by clean energy.

Obviously.

To put that figure in context (again, because it's always about context), let's look at what else we might be able to do with this kind of cash. I mean, since “the money is there” anyway.

There's always talk of ending world hunger. According to a study done in 2020, for about 330 billion dollars, we could eradicate world hunger by 2030. Wow, that sounds easy, doesn't it? In fact, since I'm feeling extra generous today (and it's not really my money anyway), I'm going to double it. Let's call it an even $660 Billion.

Here's another idea: how about bringing electricity to Africa? Currently about half the continent lives without electricity.

A study commissioned by the World Bank in 2011 discovered that to supply the entire continent of Africa with electricity would cost about 215 billion dollars US. Wow, even less than ending world hunger. Because it's such a great deal, and because of inflation, let's double that one too - $430 Billion!

Ok, here's a big one: water. Definitely more important than electricity. The World Resources Institute did a study in 2020 on what it would cost to supply clean water to the entire world. They figured that for one trillion dollars per year for 15 years, we could get that done. Well you guessed it: we're going to double that one too - $30 Trillion. See how much fun it is spending other people's money?

Or, we might think about tackling the homelessness problem. This one is really difficult to put an accurate number on, but I've seen estimates of 20 billion dollars to end homelessness in the US, 12 billion for the UK, and two billion to end homelessness in Canada. Knowing what I do about people and money (especially when government is involved), I'm pretty confident we can multiply that by about ten, so $340 billion to end homelessness in the US, the UK, and Canada. Yes, I realize it’s only three countries, but you gotta start somewhere. Oh yeah, and let's double that!

So let's add this up:

• $660BN to end world hunger

• $430BN to electrify the African continent

• $30TN to supply the entire world with fresh water

• $680BN to house all the homeless in the UK, US, and Canada

So, for a grand total of $31.77 trillion US, we could do all of this. If you happen to be bad at math, this is less than a third of what is apparently needed to “transition to a green economy” - and please remember that I've wildly overstated these numbers and according to the studies, it's actually supposed to be less than half that cost. Of course, this doesn't fix everything in the world, but it's a pretty damn good start, isn't it? And if as Mark Carney says, “the money is there,” then why wouldn't it make sense to make these things a priority over the exaggerated future pronouncements of a bunch of computer programs? And more to the point, if people's suffering right now isn't a priority, then what the hell is it really about?

A rational mind may indeed agree that these priorities would make a lot more sense than what we're currently doing, but if you've been paying attention, you'll already know that we're not dealing in rationalities here. We are, in fact dealing with something more akin to religion than anything else. And it's the most dangerous kind of religion, because it's sanctioned and promoted by the government, and it's biggest evangelists are politicians, ex-politicians, celebrities, and the news media. Again, people who are decidedly not affected at all by any of these things.

And yes, the Inquisition is also alive and well, so you better bear that in mind if you plan on asking a lot of questions.