Originally published in The Regulatory Review
We hear three recurrent lies about climate change. They are: Climate change is not real, or, if real, it will have little adverse effect; climate change can be mitigated quickly, easily, and at little cost; and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the most significant obstacle to the process of permitting projects that are essential to the success of our efforts to mitigate climate change.
The first claim has been exposed as a lie in many ways and in many forums. It is contradicted by hundreds of studies and by the increases in average temperatures, temperature variations, number of major weather events, intensity of weather events, and increases in the Arctic, Antarctic, and glacial ice melt that are already occurring.
The other two lies are not as well known. They were exposed by a January 25 editorial in The Wall Street Journal. The editorial recited several accurate and important facts.