VICTOR JOECKS: Stop stressing about climate change

You should be as worried about rising temperatures as a child crossing a street — aware of both the threat and how to mitigate it.

A new poll from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication finds that 63 percent of Nevadans are worried about global warming. That’s in line with the national average. Further, 71 percent of Nevadans believe it will harm future generations. And 68 percent said they support moving the U.S. economy from fossil fuels to 100 percent clean energy by 2050.

The takeaways look obvious. Nevadans overwhelmingly want dramatic action to stop global warming. If Nevada lawmakers don’t vote for green legislation, they’ll be voted out of office.

But there are many problems here — even before examining the merits of the issue. Start with this. “Worried” is a nebulous term. I’m worried about a fire in my home, so I have smoke detectors. I’m not so worried about a fire that I don’t live in a home.

I suspect something similar is happening here. Given the non-stop fear-mongering from Democrats and the propaganda press, people have been conditioned to be panicked about global warming. And then they move on with their lives. Look at former President Barack Obama. Sure, he’s worried about global warming, but not worried enough to forgo buying a beachfront home on an island.

The question about transitioning the U.S. economy fully away from fossil fuels is more concrete. But it’s still incomplete. Most voters simply aren’t aware of what that would entail. Despite decades of subsidies and mandates, wind and solar accounted for less than 15 percent of U.S. power generation in 2023. And they provide only intermittent power. They require fossil fuel or nuclear power plants as backup.

The U.S. economy is built on fossil fuels. Absent a technological breakthrough or more nuclear power, eliminating them would collapse the economy.

That wouldn’t be popular. Even small steps along the way — such as boosting gasoline prices — aren’t. Look at how $5-a-gallon gas prices tanked public approval of former President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy. Or look at the election results. President Donald Trump won Nevada by 3.1 percentage points while campaigning to unleash America’s fossil fuel industry.

Those who remain worried about global warming should dig a little deeper. As Bjorn Lomborg has written, climate-related deaths have dropped by 99 percent over the past century. The reason is that countries are much wealthier now than in the 1920s. This has enabled them to build infrastructure that better protects people from disasters.

That’s good news for Las Vegas residents. The decisions made here matter more than how many new coal power plants China builds. Consider the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s decades-long war on grass. That may have been good for Lake Mead, but it has made the area feel hotter. Instead of blaming global warming, look for ways to cool communities.

Adaptation — such as training your child to look both ways before crossing the road — is key to managing whatever temperature changes come along.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.