Political elites might have a different opinion about the merits of cutting carbon emissions if they lived with the consequences.
Gov. Steve Sisolak frequently advocates reducing greenhouse gas emissions to fight global warming. In 2019, he signed a bill requiring 50 percent of Nevada’s power to come from renewables by 2030. Expect blackout warnings to increase exponentially as 2030 approaches.
Another bill he supported requires regular reports assessing whether Nevada policies will lead to zero or near-zero emissions by 2050.
Just last month, Sisolak touted a new regulation that boosts low- and zero-emission cars at the expense of gasoline-powered vehicles. “Transportation is the No. 1 source of greenhouse gas emissions in Nevada and drives disproportionate pollution burdens for historically underserved communities,” Sisolak said.
You’d expect someone with this outlook to insist on riding a bicycle or at least driving a hybrid.
Not Sisolak. Last month, Sisolak was involved in a car accident in Las Vegas. Fortunately, he and the other driver suffered only minor injuries. Accidents happen, even when you’re the governor.
Sisolak was driving an SUV, specifically a Lexus RX350. The hybrid model of that SUV is the Lexus RX450, per cars.com.
The police report lists the vehicle owner as Stephen Sisolak. On that report, the box stating the owner was the same as the driver isn’t checked.
But body camera footage showed the governor pulling an old insurance card for the SUV from his wallet.
This makes it all but definitive that it’s the governor’s vehicle. The governor’s office didn’t respond when asked if Sisolak owned the SUV.
Sisolak, the climate alarmist, was driving around Las Vegas in a gas-guzzling SUV. He wants you to cut your carbon emissions but didn’t feel to need to drive a zero-emissions vehicle himself. What a hypocrite. But when it comes to global warming, he’s far from the only one.
This week, the world’s elite gathered in Glasgow for the ongoing summit on climate change. The richest people in the world weren’t going to fly commercial. The Daily Mail reported that 400 private jets flew in for the event.
President Joe Biden called global warming an “existential threat to human existence as we know it.” It’s hard to imagine more dramatic hyperbole. He’s claiming that continued carbon emissions threaten human existence.
Yet just days earlier, he traveled through Rome in an 85-vehicle motorcade. He appeared to fall asleep during the conference — and that was probably his most relatable moment as president. Despite the media’s hype, this is boring stuff. It shouldn’t be, however, if you think humanity’s very existence is at stake.
More significantly, Biden’s response to rising gasoline prices has been to beg oil producers to pump more. Rising gasoline prices are a feature, not a bug, of plans seeking zero emissions.
The biggest hypocrisy of all is the refusal by most global warming alarmists to embrace nuclear power, which is carbon-free and reliable.
Many politicians who push carbon-cutting policies aren’t willing to make the personal sacrifices those policies will eventually require.
Add Sisolak to that long and growing list.
Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.