Winter is not my favorite season. I don’t like shoveling snow, getting stuck in drifts and especially trying to desperately stay on the highway during white-out blizzards. Been there, done that.
Opinion
But I sure missed it this year. I think many longtime Wyomingites did too, and not only because they longed for a white Christmas. It just doesn’t seem natural to see people wearing shorts to the grocery store in January, even if it’s 70-plus degrees.
On the positive side, I have friends who marveled that they could take their kids out to enjoy activities that usually only happen in summer.
But longtime residents know what this portends: a dreadful rest of the year, with a dramatically low snowpack that doesn’t fill our waterways, reducing essential water storage for agriculture, cities and ecosystems. Devastating drought conditions will likely get worse, and severe wildfire risks could be at an all-time high.
There are fundamental political reasons why there are more climate-related disasters, and normally dry areas are getting pummeled by snow. Some of our federal and state elected officials are complicit in actively working to bring our efforts to fight climate change to a screeching halt.
I’ve always found people want to talk about the weather, and they are fascinated by the case of our stolen winter. Climate change is on almost everyone’s mind, except for the dwindling number of Americans who still think it’s all a hoax.
Unfortunately, that list includes President Donald Trump, who has spent the last decade calling it a fraud, and the first 14 months of his second term dismantling the climate change work of former President Joe Biden, whose administration valiantly tried to address this crisis that scientists have warned threatens the planet’s very survival.
Some readers have told me over the years that I have “Trump Derangement Syndrome,” a derogatory label for intense worry, persistent anger or preoccupation with the president’s words and policies.
But I know I’ve got a clean bill of health when it comes to TDS, and here’s why: We have a president who totally ignores science and encourages others to do the same. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, sending the signal to the rest of the world that since we no longer care about fighting climate change, why should they?
Trump has defunded critical climate research, changed the federal government’s priority from advancing clean energy technology to protecting fossil fuels, and ordered federal agencies to stop considering the economic damage caused by climate change when writing regulations.
In short, all of these asinine decisions are examples of how instead of trying to keep Americans healthy and save the environment, the president is only capable of throwing a tantrum to make his predecessor — who defeated him fair-and-square in 2020 — look bad.
I don’t have TDS, I have Trump “I Know What You’re Doing” Syndrome. He’s confirmed by his actions that he doesn’t care about anyone else on the planet but himself. I wonder how Trump will handle it when his beloved Mar-a-Lago is underwater when climate change raises the sea level.
Yes, Trump is responsible for much of this, but he’s not operating in a vacuum. He’s had plenty of help from Wyoming’s congressional delegation, as well as special assistance from his biggest fan and coattail hanger-on in Wyoming, Secretary of State (and U.S. House candidate) Chuck Gray. Gray has focused heavily on defeating wind farm projects, which he calls “woke.”
In January, the American Petroleum Institute announced that killing state climate lawsuits is a top priority this year for the oil lobby. U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman soon came to the rescue, with a news release that said she’s working on a bill to create a liability waiver that could give the companies complete legal immunity. It’s modeled after a 2005 bill that prevented lawsuits against gun manufacturers.
Nearly 200 groups have urged Democratic congressional officials to oppose this get-out-of-jail free card. One is the Center for Climate Integrity, which said Hageman’s proposal “would bar the courthouse doors for communities across the country and stick U.S. taxpayers with the massive bill for climate damages, while bailing out corporate polluters from having to pay for the mess they made.”
“Wherever you find yourself on the issue of climate change,” U.S. Sen. John Barrasso said in 2008, “we can agree on one important dynamic — change not only awaits us, it is banging on the door. We need to change it on our terms before Washington’s massive bureaucracy changes it for us.”
Whatever happened to that guy? In July 2022 Barrasso said, “We have a crisis in this country, and it’s not the climate. We have an energy crisis. People know what they want. They want American energy that is reliable, available and affordable.’’
He certainly wasn’t talking about wind and solar power or battery storage. By 2024, Barrasso was calling out the “climate zealots” for “focusing so much on killing the production of American energy that they’re choking off the lifeblood of our communities.”
The senator sponsored a bill to accelerate leasing and permitting decisions for all types of energy projects on federal lands. “The insignificant crumbs thrown at renewable energy do nothing to address the climate crisis, but instead would make it game over for a livable planet,” criticized the Center for Biological Diversity.
Shortly after Trump’s second inauguration in 2025, Barrasso said the president’s election and a global turn against climate priorities provide a mandate to overhaul the International Energy Agency. Barrasso said the agency is biased against fossil fuels and a “cheerleader” for renewable energy, which is funny when you know that the person who’s furiously waving his pompoms for Trump is our senior senator.
U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who is retiring at the end of the year, also sponsored bills to tweak Biden when he was in the White House. In 2023 she introduced the “Real Emergencies Act” to prohibit the president from declaring a national emergency solely on the basis of climate change.
Was she scared that Biden called climate change a clear and present danger to the country? Or that the “Green New Deal” proposal by progressive lawmakers would fulfill its goal of putting millions of Americans to work in good-paying union jobs and tackling pollution and climate damage?
Probably. But she explained that her bill was aimed at protecting domestic energy production in Wyoming that would be harmed if a climate change emergency was declared.
The delegation has certainly raised fears that climate change will remain the boogeyman for conservative lawmakers for years. But I think Gray, who is seeking Hageman’s seat while she runs to replace Lummis, would set a new standard for indignation about what a Democratic administration would do about climate change.
“Liberals who want to cover Wyoming with their ‘woke’ wind projects?” Gray proclaimed in one of his TV commercials. “Not on my watch.”
Please don’t ask me what a woke wind project is, or how Gray could ban them if he’s elected, because I have no idea what he’s talking about. He also said he stands with Trump on everything, which should tell you all you need to know about him.
Barrasso isn’t up for reelection, but if you don’t like what Hageman and Gray are preaching about climate change and why they think we must protect fossil fuels that pollute our environment and put all life on Earth at ever-greater risk, please vote in the Aug. 18 primary election.
Wyoming shouldn’t be represented by politicians who think they’re doing their job by continuing to prop up a dying industry when clean renewable energy and strengthening our environmental regulations instead of tossing them out is our best hope for survival — and a real Wyoming winter.
Where, oh where to start?
1. New definition. TDS stands for Trump’s dementia syndrome. Unfortunately, I have known several individuals that have suffered from dementia. Dementia is very severe mental incapacitation . If you look at Trump, he definitely has a lot of signs of dementia.
2. RINO. New definition. Republican idiots need ousting. Living in Wyoming since I was born 69 years ago, I’ve seen a lot of what I call true Republicans. I voted for many Republican in my life. These wacko Republicans are not true Republicans..
People get out and vote these crazy people out of office. The dumb caucus is ruining our state..
So, now to address, the issue of climate change:
First climate change is happening. It has been proven that it’s happening and it’s getting worse. However, I’m tired of the divide in what causes it. It appears that people are either all in or all out. The climate has been changing for thousands of years and there are many things that affect it. Has humankind made it worse ?
ABSOLUTELY. Is it completely humankind’s fault NOPE. But it does appear that mother nature is pissed off
Can humankind do better and help the world. ABSOLUTELY. And we definitely need to.
I have studied climate change for years. I have solar panels on my house, and I drive a hybrid car. Before I retired I ran a recycling center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
To make a point. Imagine the scope of garbage we’d be in now if we did not start recycling. Landfills would be overflowing. We have to learn from our mistakes.
When I was a youngster, the landfills burned the garbage, but that was stopped as it created too much pollution
Fortunately, we learned from our mistakes.
They used to burn tires to get rid of them but now they get recycled. We learned from our mistakes.
The shingles on my roof are made out of recycle tires. They are very tough and it keeps a lot of tires out of the landfill. The roof will last for at least my life time.
Currently all fuel sources are needed, but we’ve got to get away from the ones that caused the most pollution. We have to work together.
When I was in college, there were 3 wind turbines, or what Trump calls windmills put up in medicine Bow, Wyoming. They weren’t that great, but it gave insight into their potential and how to improve them . Are they perfect yet?
No, they are not but, companies are working on better designs and methods to recycle the turbines.
There are also newer turbine for home use. I am following them closely and when they get better, I’ll probably install one at my house. There one sure fact, the wind always blows in Wyoming.
I will also have to agree with Mr. Drake that I have no idea what Chuck Gray means by woke wind Farms. People please vote and get him out of office.
At least he’s not running for governor.
So,I need to wrap this up, it appears that my old brain has been rambling again. It happens.
Do we need Coal right now? Yes. we need to figure out how to make it so it doesn’t cause as much pollution.
Do we need to burn gasoline and diesel right now ? Yep but we need to get better and better at cleaning it up before it ends up in the atmosphere.
Do we need to continue to push for better Solar. Yep….. Better wind. Yep…..
Do we need to push for better nuclear? You get the picture
The government needs to look at all sorts of energy. People need to look at all sorts of energy. We are the people can do a lot of things when we put our minds to it.
Plant tree, turn your thermostat down a little, plan your trip so you aren’t going out all the time, walk a little more. Wyoming has been an energy leader for a long time and we can continue to do that but we have to utilize all sources available to us.
People will either save the planet or continue to destroy it, and we should not let politicians destroy👍👍
You’ve got all of our neighbors on the right fired up on this one Kerry.
You are right on. What we are seeing has been predicted by scientists since the late 1800’s. Yes, climate change does happen on it’s own but when you have billions of people burning fossil fuels every day of the year it changes the natural order. Sadly we have many people who are arm-chair scientists who get their info from dubious news sources and then claim to be experts and downplay the real existential threat we are facing. And yes, doomsday predictions have been going on for years and unfortunately we are now facing those very same predictions.
I agree.
How many billions of years did it take for the earth to form oil and coal deposits? If you burn it all in ~150 years and claim humans had no contribution, then you are a fool.
Anti science is primarily represented by one political party. Rational people know which one it is.
Well said Kerry. While climate change has always been happening, on a global basis it has only been going in one direction (warmer) for at least the past century. Al Gore and science originally and correctly called the phenomenon “Global Warming” but one political party and the fossil fuel industry effectively replaced that term with “climate change” in order to minimize the problem and continue their anti -environmental activities .
TDS? Yes, I do believe tRump is deranged, as is his colony of lemmings.
The Mojave California solar power plant, which features three 459-foot towers and thousands of computer-controlled mirrors known as heliostats, cost some $2.2 billion to build.
Construction began in 2010 and was completed in 2014. Now it’s set to close in 2026 after failing to efficiently generate solar energy.
In 2011, the US Department of Energy under President Barack Obama issued $1.6 billion in three federal loan guarantees for the project and the secretary of energy, Ernest Moniz, hailed it as “an example of how America is becoming a world leader in solar energy.”
YEP, I wondered how many companies were in Barack’s pocket?
The dust bowl of the 30’s occurred for a number of reasons yet to be proved. In the 60’s, when Chevy’s were sporting 427 engines, the hills of LA were hardly visible.
Government and hand outs do not solve problems, they create them. Let private enterprise play its roll, let America build it own solar panels and put its own spin on wind.
Wyoming has the lowest SNAP ATTACHMENT in the country. I am proud of that, let us keep it that way! AND yes, the GREEN NEW DEAL was a BAD DEAL for the USA!
MR. Drake, you never seem to provide solutions outside the Government which has none!
The leadership and policymakers of the State of Woming are guilty of Aiding & Abetting the crime of Man-caused Climate Change. A & A is punished as severely as the crime it complements. Except our policymakers , legislators, and elected officials aren’t even charged. Even If they were indicted for enabling the planetwide pandemic of geocide , they’d get a free pass. If we can’t arrest the Exxon-Mobils and Peabody Coals of the world for their crimes against humanity , leadership has little to worry about.
Wyoming is guilty of endangering the planet. We stoke the fires of Hades above ground on into the sky, extolling only the false economics and excusing the very real and very mortal consequences. A recent peer reviewed study conservatively estimates that the United States’ profligate production of carbon energy has caused at a minimum over $ 10 TRILLION in damages since 1990. ( source: Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford U. and multiple secondary sources ). Attaching dollar values to fossil fuel use should be easily digestible by Republicans and hydrocarbon heretics of alls tripes, but when presented with the damning balance sheets it only seems to harden them. I can only explain that by saying Greed is terminal and has no treatment or cure. Follow the money to the graveyards.
I will add one more obvious data point . No one disputes the global demand for energy – espeically electricity on demand – is growing rapidly. Population increases, upscaling and injecting technology into every demographic culture , and those infernal data centers demanding gigajoules of power are forcing the planet to produce more electricity today than it did yesterday, as far ahead as anyone can see.
So riddle me this Wyoming moguls Barrasso, Lummis, Hageman ,Gordon , Gray and a few thousand others: 92 percent of NEW electrical generation that came online last year to meet rising demand was from renewables , not fossil fuels. Solar panels and wind turbines, not coalstoked boilers or natural gas furnaces. So—-?
Bottom Line: Why does Wyoming purposely remain so stupid about the world around us ?
The acronym TDS leaves off the possessive at the end of his name: “Trump’s Derangement Syndrome”. Our delegation has it too. These “leaders” care nothing about this state, its people, or the greater environment. Only themselves and their ability to grab power or make profit. Support the democratic institutions that make civilized life possible people!
Kerry Drake is a treasure.
And all of you that continue to consume the Trump-MAGA Kool-Aid, just keep telling yourself “climate change is a hoax”, “climate change is a hoax” and everything will be fine.
Good luck to those in the ag business. Now on top of having no water for irrigation, thanks to the convicted felon that you put in the White House, you have five dollar a gallon gasoline and diesel prices and sky high fertilizer costs!
One thing that is consistent in nature…
The climate AMWAYS changes.
We have had dooms day predictions for over 40 years. If Al Gore was right 20 years ago, there would be no ice in the arctic and Florida would be wiped off the map from hurricanes and much of the eastern coastal cities (Miami) would be under water.
We have no idea most recently how much effect Stratospheric Aerosol Injection/Geoengineering has had on our weather. The Govt. admits it is going on, and when man tries to control mother nature it never ends well.
Thank you Kerry for reminding us how our own government, and especially Wyoming’s so called “leaders” are dismantling any attempt to curb human’s impact on our climate. I can only reason that they know they won’t live long enough to experience the most devastating consequences; even though their younger heirs likely will. We’ve kicked this ball down the road so far that it’s nearly inevitable that we can’t catch up. It seems that money and benefits to the wealthiest segment of our economy always rules the action taken by our government. Only when this earth has been harmed enough that it directly affects their lives, as a Mar-a-Lago flood might do, will the “too late” bell ring.
Even that won’t do the trick. The resistant mind can always rationalize. As Upton Sinclair so aptly put it; “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.”
Climate Change is exactly that. Climate Change. It has been going on forever. Chuck Grey is working hard for Wyoming
“Liberals who want to cover Wyoming with their ‘woke’ wind projects?” Gray proclaimed in one of his TV commercials. “Not on my watch.”. That is a great Idea. I agree.
The Green New deal was bas for Wyoming and Bad for the USA.
Senator Barrasso has been great for Wyoming as has Represenitive (and soon to be senator) Hageman. Our Federal elected officials here in Wyoming are great
Interesting comment coming from the mayor of Shoshoni. Why would this gentleman call renewables “woke?” Because his lil town has a major funding issue and cant generate enough tax revenue to keep the city going because they keep woking their way into the red.
Shoshoni relies on basically one main tax collection, extraction, and since Wyoming has destroyed property tax law, small cities like Shoshoni are going to die, and thank leadership like Joel here. Its hilarious that local Sheriff’s are down for tax increases for schools but Joel here laughs at education.
Why is Joel here calling wind “woke?” Because this area is a great candidate for wind farms which ironically would generate tax revenue to shore up their shortfall, but its woke. When I hear woke I hear “im being paid by extraction industry!”
Meanwhile to keep Shoshonis schools going theyre going to rely on other counties like mine and federal funding.
Hey Joel, if Gray and Hageman and Barrasso are fighting for Wyoming, why is your town dying and falling apart because not enough people live there for enough tax collection to fund your blink it and miss it town. So tired of this woke mindset being used as a cudgel to properly care for your constituents.
The hunga Tonga volcanic eruption in 2022 pushed millions of gallons of water vapor into the stratosphere.
This volcanic eruption was the largest eruption since Krakatoa in 1883.
The weather pattern was disrupted for 2 decades after Krakatoa.
The same thing is happening with the hunga Tonga eruption.
Mr. Drake, only a person with a low IQ wouldn’t have TDS.