February 13, 2021
As your kids are slowly but surely returning to close to “normal” in-person education, they will probably be asked to prepare a paper on climate change. I’m asking you to challenge them to take a little, well, maybe a big risk and do some research into the validity of the climate change argument.
Yes, there is a change in our climate. That is unquestionable. But, is it caused by us? We humans? That’s what those who believe in anthropomorphic (human behavior) climate change say is happening. We humans, they tell us, have to change our ways.
Are solar and wind power the best alternatives to fossil fuels? Do carbon offsets do anything to improve the environment or do they just change who is using it?
Some countries are so poor in the availability of electricity they want no part in reducing their use of fossil 
fuels. Take a look at the chart on the right. One-fifth of the world population has no electricity. India, it says, has the largest un-electrified population in the world—290 million people are without electricity!
Vijay Jayaraj, an environmental researcher & consultant, has written a valuable article titled “Record Cold of 2021 Reminds Us: Be Wary of Climate Predictions and Energy Priorities.” In it, he cautions about the importance of taking time to assess what is really happening with our climate, and the effects draconian changes in energy production could have on many countries.
In another article, Jayaraj says:
India understands the unreliability of wind and solar, and are leaving no stones unturned when it comes to securing fossil fuel reserves for the present and the future. For example, in 2020, the wind sector could not operate to its potential even in the months that are traditionally considered to be best for operations. “A prominent reason for the decline was the unseasonable and sharp reduction in wind speeds in resource-rich States (Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu), leading to an approximately 41 per cent reduction in wind generation in July 2020 compared with July 2019. The second quarter typically records the highest wind energy generation every year,” said a report from CEEW. (Emphasis mine.)
I’ve posed a few questions here. Get your kids started making a list of questions they have, and you might want to add a few of your own. My guess is that the more you investigate and read, the more questions you will have. I’ll post a couple of good books and websites that, from my perspective, (call me a climate denier) are worth reading.