June 1-3, 2017: World Leaders Condemn Trump after Withdrawal from Paris Climate Accord

 

June 1, 2017: The president, who can’t tell the difference between weather and climate, and has the same grasp of basic science one might expect from a hamster, withdraws the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accord. In so doing, he aligns the United States with two other “leading” nations: Syria and Nicaragua. The other 194 signatories still believe climate change is a serious threat. 

BLOGGER’S NOTE: April 2018 more than a thousand members of the National Academy of Sciences will sign a letter criticizing the decision to withdraw from the accord. “The dismissal of scientific evidence in policy formation has affected wide areas of social, biological, environmental and physical sciences,” they will warn.

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6/2/2017: Reporters ask aides if the president still believes global warming is a hoax. It’s an easy question. You might as well ask if Trump believes in Santa Claus. Press Secretary Sean Spicer replies, “I have not had an opportunity to have that discussion.” (See: 8/27/17; 12/28/17; 1/6/18.) 

Kellyanne Conway gives a flippant answer, fluffs her hair, and prances away. “You should ask him,” she says.

 

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“Make Our Planet Great Again.” 

President Emmanuel Macron

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In “Fake News,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel, invoking her training as a scientist, tells reporters Trump’s actions: 

…will not deter all of us who feel obliged to protect this earth [emphasis added]…We will gather all our strength – in Germany, in Europe, and in the world – to meet the great challenges of humanity, like climate change, and to successfully master these challenges. For all whom the future of this planet is important, I say: Let us continue along this path together, so that we are successful for our Mother Earth.

 

Koichi Yamamoto, Japan’s environment minister, says the president has “turned his back on the wisdom of human beings.” 

French President Emmanuel Macron is blunt, mocking Trump’s stance. He addresses an audience on TV: 

Tonight, I wish to tell the United States, France believes in you – the world believes in you.

 

I know that you are a great nation. I know your history – our common history.

 

To all scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, responsible citizens who were disappointed by the decision of the president of the United States, I want to say that they will find in France a second homeland.

 

I call on them: come and work here with us. To work together on concrete solutions for our climate, our environment. I can assure you, France will not give up the fight.

 

I call on you to remain confident. We will succeed, because we are fully committed, because wherever we live, whoever we are, we all share the same responsibility: Make Our Planet Great Again.

 

France and Britain pledge to ban the sale of gas- and diesel-powered automobiles by 2040. (See: 7/6/17.)

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6/3/17: The average American worker’s wage grows 0.2 percent in May. This brings the year-over-year gain to 2.5 percent. That surpasses inflation by 0.5 percent, meaning the average worker, earning $45,000 annually, has $225 more to stick in the bank or hide in his or her sock drawer. 

By comparison, the top 25 hedge fund managers earn a combined $11 billion in 2016. James Simons leads the way at $1.6 billion. Simon’s pay for one year equals the wage gains piled up by 7,111,111 average workers. 

You know what this proves? 

We need tax cuts for the ultra-rich!