A Look Before the BS Leap
Even before commenting on the content of some articles, I look at the underlying reasons why an article is masquerading as reality when in fact, it’s a political Trojan horse or partisan decoy. Here is one such case.
The words weigh as heavy as the accompanying photograph of darkened exhaust billowing from towering smokestacks. The lengthy title, which is link reads, “1 in 4 Americans considering putting off major life decisions out of fear of climate change: survey.” Taking a photograph with sunlight facing towards the photographer creates a false appearance or impression of the smoke being black or dark even when it’s white – a constant environmentalist’s trick. The photo in this column is actually steam, not smoke - another deception.
Further, for sake of influence and impact the article’s titles and photographs are white on black reversing the traditional look of black on white. This creates a more ominous effect magnifying ‘dirt’ or ‘pollution’.
The next item to check is the author of the article, Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech. When it is discovered that she has or is writing for organizations such as Changing America, BBC, MSN, The Drive, The Villager, and Gay City News, it leaves little doubt that Ms. Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech is, at least in her journalism pursuits, a partisan progressive.
The subject column was written in the publication Changing America which under their sustainability menu item has “Climate Change” listed first. Not a single story that I clicked into had an article in opposition to climate change or even quoted a climatologist or climate scientist challenging the theory. Changing America is a division of The Hill Newspaper which was started by the late Jerry Finkelstein, a Democratic political insider, and the late Martin Tolchin, a stalwart studier of Marxism.
Now, let’s look at the American participant who conducted the relevant survey “Veolia North America” which claims to work, “with organizations across the US and Canada to address their environmental and sustainability challenges in water, waste, and energy.” Not exactly a fuzzy feeling for those opposed to the detrimental political policies being enacted by the eco-politicians and bureaucrats campaigning for the authenticity of climate change, while in an actual quest for political and societal alteration.
To further prove the advocacy of climate change the following appears on the Climate change page of the survey, “The results are in - IPCC reports, investment plans, climate strategies, the Green New Deal, the COP: the ecological debate is now in full swing, public opinion is aware of the ongoing climate crisis and the reality of climate change is no longer a matter of debate.” Does that sound neutral or nonpartisan?
The mission statement of Veolia North America reads, “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. In diversity lies strength. We strive to be a workplace that is inclusive and empowers people to contribute their best.” Where and whenever “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” appear as a positive, it has quite a distinctive stink of leftism. It would seem to many that if “in diversity lies strength” then “in unity lies weakness” - so the former is really a trendy, fashionable phrase that has no realistic or rational value.
All of the above sectarian content can be gleaned from the ancillary background surrounding the article even before reading it. Sometimes this background can reveal as much as the content of the article. Now, let’s look at the actual survey.
The results allege “climate change is affecting the decision-making around major events for 1 in 4 U.S. adults”, yet a clear third of the survey participants are in the age bracket identified as 18 to 35 – those same people most prone to believe in climate change merely through political, media and academic influence.
The survey states that “Most adults in the U.S. — 80 percent — believe that climate change is taking place, with 60 percent saying they believe the phenomenon is caused by humans, the survey found”. First that initial should read 100% because the climate is always changing, in other words, how was the question worded? Further is that 60% of the total or 60% of 80% which would be 48% of the total which is closer to reality. To extend this further, while the survey details the general geographical locations of the survey, it does not state if these were divided between cities, towns, and rural areas. If the participants were mostly city dwellers, the results slant significantly toward a conviction in human-generated climate change.
President and CEO of Veolia North American Frederic Van Heems makes the claim, “They [Americans] share a sense of urgency with the rest of the world,” adding, “The results tell us that Americans feel it is time to act, and that they are eager to address the challenges of climate change within actual solutions that preserve our precious resources.” Yet the survey clearly says 25% and that could be the youngest polled participants and mostly city dwellers. The survey image is shown below:
The survey claims, “61 % of United States Residents express a feeling of ecological and climate vulnerability” – again, if one resides in America’s “tornado alley” or the hurricane-prone east coast, certainly 61% can claim that sentiment. Again how was the survey question framed?
Lastly, the survey question declares, “Resource scarcity and pollution, as well, as their direct impact on health, are perceived as serious imminent risks by more than 64% of United States inhabitants”. Resource scarcity - This could certainly be the coming scarcity of the resource we call energy. The argument has clearly been made that a lack of energy and the avenue to some level of prosperity generates an abundance of bona fide physical pollution, not the other way around.
While there are many questions, concerns, and inconsistencies with the survey, it is also clear that the survey, the news coverage, and the details and personnel involved have a sharp gradient flowing very far left.