Op-Ed: It's Not Celebrity Climate Change Activists That Bother Me, It's Their Hypocrisy
On Wednesday, actress and climate activist Jane Fonda launched the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, claiming the world is in danger due to “inaction” on climate change.
In a video posted on Twitter, she said there would be grave consequences if we don’t cut fossil fuel emissions in the next eight years.
“Scientists have been very clear,” Fonda said. “We have to cut our fossil fuel emissions in half by 2030. We have eight years. That’s just four election cycles before the point of no return.”
I am incredibly proud to announce the launch of @janeclimatepac and send a message to all the politicians who are bankrolled by fossil fuels: You should be as scared for your careers as we are by the climate spinning out of our control. Join us https://t.co/YRXBUeMUbJ pic.twitter.com/OrBb3r4Nq1
— Jane Seymour Fonda (@Janefonda) March 17, 2022
It should be no surprise that her PAC hopes to eliminate the coal, oil and natural gas industries from society.
“The climate crisis poses unprecedented threats to our communities, our environment, our economy, and our security,” the PAC’s mission statement says. “It’s not too late to change our course. But it won’t happen as long as oil, gas, and coal companies maintain their stranglehold on American politics.”
Fonda is another Hollywood celebrity who does not seem to follow her own advice. With a net worth of about $200 million, she purchased a 6,679-square foot mansion in 2017. In a 2019 interview, she admitted to sometimes taking airplanes to attend climate change protests, stating that activists would be at a “disadvantage” if they could not fly.
Of course, this is not the first time a celebrity or government official has claimed climate change would have catastrophic consequences.
[firefly_poll]
At the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, former Vice President Al Gore falsely predicted that the North Pole’s ice caps would likely have melted by now. “Some of the models suggest that there is a 75 percent chance that the entire north polar ice cap, during some of the summer months, could be completely ice-free within the next five to seven years,” he said.
In 2019, the UN said urgent action was needed. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, then-president of the General Assembly, claimed “eleven years is all we have ahead of us to change our direction.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez echoed the same sentiment, stating that we had 12 years left to address climate change.
Climate change is here + we’ve got a deadline: 12 years left to cut emissions in half.
A #GreenNewDeal is our plan for a world and a future worth fighting for.
How did we get here?
What is at stake?
And where are we going?Please watch & share widely ⬇️pic.twitter.com/IMCtS86VXG
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 17, 2019
It is clear that Fonda’s claims are nothing new. Activists tell us we are running out of time to save the world, but none of their predictions seem to come true.
The issue is not that these individuals are living lavishly — it is the hypocrisy of telling everyone else to live modestly for the sake of the climate while they refuse to do so themselves.
I cannot predict the future, but I feel confident that there won’t be a climate catastrophe in 2030 like Fonda claims. We all will continue living our lives with or without this new PAC.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
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