June 2, 2017
Dear Mr. President,
You, sir, are an idiot.
I watched you stand there at the podium and announce that
the US would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement (which may turn out to
be one of the stupidest decisions of your presidency) and noticed that almost everything that came out of your
mouth was either false or impossible. I
am not a scientist, an economist, or an investigative journalist, I'm just
someone who pays attention to the news and is a firm believer in the power of
truth. So let's unpack your withdrawal
statement one section and a time, shall we?
You said the Paris agreement would result in, "lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered
factories and vastly diminished economic production." Your sole source for this information is a
report by NERA Economic Consulting.
Remember when you learned how to write a research paper in high school
and your teacher said you must have at least three reputable sources? It's a basic principle of research and it
applies to presidents too. NERA reports
are historically conservative and tend to result in statistics biased toward
conservative causes. This report also
does not take into account any of the benefits of reducing greenhouse gas such
as avoiding costly extreme weather or the economic benefits of increasing clean
energy generation (both in manufacturing AND job creation). You cherry-picked the one (and only) study
that said what you wanted to hear. If
you were a 9th grader in my son's high school you would be given a D
and told to re-write your paper.
You said we would, "withdraw
immediately" from the Paris agreement.
This is not possible. The agreement
is structured in such a way that it will be three
years before the US can withdraw. Of
course, since the whole scheme is voluntary anyway you can just not do anything
for three years. But we are not out of
the agreement today because you said we should be yesterday. It doesn't work that way and you don't have
that kind of power.
You said it was your job to, "fulfill my solemn duty to protect America and it's citizens. The
US will withdraw from the Paris climate accord." But you are not protecting American citizens
by withdrawing from this agreement…you are endangering them
both physically (by the ravages of extreme weather as well as dirty air, soil,
and water) and financially (by stifling the growing renewable energy product
market).
You said you would, "re-assert
America's sovereignty." Are you
high? Who the heck do you think is questioning the sovereignty of the United
States of America?!? Believe me, Angela
Merkel is not gunning for your job.
You said that you would, "begin negotiations to re-enter either the Paris accord or really
an entirely new transaction. We will
start to negotiate and make a deal that's fair." But there's nothing to be negotiated and no
one to negotiate with. We made a voluntary
pledge. This was never a
"deal" as you like to say; no bargaining, nobody trying to screw us. That's
just not how the Paris agreement was structured. You seem to really not understand how this thing
was put together.
So I will say it again – you, sir, are an idiot.
There are business opportunities in taking the environment
seriously yet you persist in perpetuating the myth that helping the environment
means hurting the economy. Luckily, many
of this country's biggest and most successful companies have recognized the
facts and the opportunities presented by pursuing green technologies and have
pledged to continue working toward reducing carbon emissions. In fact, as near as I can tell, most of the
God damn country is going to just ignore your withdrawal statement and move
ahead with their own plans for environmental protection. So far I count 30 cities, 3 states, over 100
companies, several major banks and venture capital groups as well as millions
of American citizens, public schools and non-profit organizations. Of course, here in Vermont where I live the
clean energy revolution is in full swing and has been for years and years. That's why Vermont is one of the most beautiful
places in the entire country and tourists flock to see us (hey, that's another
economic boom for environmentalism!).
I have to run now because this letter is too long for your
White House email server so I have to print it out and snail mail it to you.
Also, I have a demonstration to attend in Burlington where we will be raising
signs and voices against your stupid and reckless decision and renewing our own
personal commitments to climate action.
Sincerely,
Amy Beaton
P.S. Emmanuel Macron said, "Let's make our planet great
again." I like that guy :)
P.P.S. Don't forget your sunscreen.
P.P.S. Don't forget your sunscreen.
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