Matt "King Coal" Ridley has yet another oped in the Wall Street Journal. This time, he makes a shameless attempt at revisionist history. First, he says Rachel Carson's cancer concerns were wrong (a favorite talking point among climate deniers who are also history deniers). Then, he says acid rain wasn't a problem and the ozone hole was fine, only to contradict himself by saying action on those fronts "proved manageable, so maybe not much harm was done."
He basically admits acid rain and ozone depletion were solved with no ill consequences, but then goes on to say that "climate change is different." Ridley cites the Heritage Foundation to argue that climate action will be "vastly more expensive," and then proceeds to rant about GMOs, pesticides, nuclear power, and fracking, blaming environmentalists for their opposition to these issues. Of course, Ridley is ignoring the fact that many environmentalists support some or all of these technologies, and he's also glossing over any legitimate criticisms of their dangers.
Getting back on track with contemporary complaints, Ridley lists the dangers of climate change that have allegedly been debunked, leveling broad and BP-sourced criticisms against renewables. He then concludes abruptly with a paragraph on indoor air pollution, disingenuously suggesting that fossil fuels are the solution to that problem. Of course, this ignores the fact that fossil fuels (and mainly coal) are the primary causes of deaths linked to indoor air pollution. (One new study suggests pollution causes 1.6 million deaths in China each year—or 4,400 a day—and that particulate matter from fossil fuels is the most deadly pollutant.)
With this piece, Ridley moves further from his formerly respected life as an author, and puts a foot firmly in the camp of deniers who seek to rewrite history to serve political goals.
But at least this time the WSJ managed to note in his byline that Ridley's "family leases land for coal mining in northern England."
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