Indian River High School

The Reality Behind the Climate Change Movement 

Recently many political figures and activists have been warning about a climate crisis, often referred to as “climate change” or “global warming”.  However, the truth is that the world is in a crisis, but not the one that is currently being painted by the mainstream media. The biggest act of environmental injustice plaguing society is the weaponization of energy and the environment to weaken the U.S. and its European allies. The climate agenda is promoted by Russian and Chinese-backed environmental groups to promote foreign and ineffective sources of “clean energy” to these Western countries.  

Various investigations have found evidence that the Russian government has been funneling money to a company in Bermuda, Klein Ltd. This company then gives the money to the Sea Change Foundation, where it is dispersed to multiple green NGOs (non-governmental organizations). Several NATO officials have spoken out against the threat Russia poses on the Western energy market, including then-NATO Secretary-General and former Prime Minister of Denmark, Andres Forgh Rasmusen, who, in a 2014 London presentation, stated, “I have met allies who can report that Russia, as a part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – environmental organizations working against shale gas – to maintain European energy dependence on Russian imported gas”(The Heritage Foundation 2017).  Ramusen’s quote was later used in a 2017 letter by congressmen Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Randy Webber, (R-Texas) where they called on then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to launch an investigation into ties between the Russian Government and various environmental groups. However, this investigation has not yet occurred.   

The letter written by the congressmen also raises a warning against  Russian social media campaigns in favor of “green energy” In the letter, Congressman Randy Webber stated, “Russians managed to make 9,097 posts against fracking on multiple social media platforms in 2017 alone, with the aim of influencing voters and elected officials” (The Heritage Foundation 2017). The data the congressmen collected only includes posts flagged by the sites. There could have been thousands more that went unnoticed for their ties to the Russian government. Social media has become a very influential body of information, making this threat of Russian propaganda one not to be taken lightly. 

The purpose of these disinformation campaigns is to discourage Western countries from producing their own energy, making them dependent on energy produced by foreign entities. Once the West loses its energy independence Russia and the other members of the BRICS alliance (Brazil, India, China, and Saudi Arabia) will have complete control over the global energy market. Having control over energy provides these countries with immense political power, posing a severe national security threat to the U.S. and its allies.

China is currently dominating the production of the forms of “green energy” that environmentalist groups have been heavily lobbying for in the West. China is the world’s largest producer of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries, and electric vehicles. The country has also been the top investor in promoting clean energy for nine out of the last ten years. Continuing to make the switch to green energy, will put the Chinese government in control of the world energy supply. The West needs to stop handing such extreme power to their foreign adversaries. With this power, China is able to create energy rules that they don’t follow themselves. They have continuously sold “green energy” to the West while maintaining the use of coal and natural gas inside their own country.

Not only are the more recently proposed energy alternatives to gas putting money into the pockets of our opponents, but they are also very ineffective when it comes to maintaining a long-term power supply. For example, during a 2021 Texas Cold Front, a wind turbine farm in the state shut down due to freezing temperatures, leaving many without power. Becoming dependent on energy that is extremely sensitive to the weather is very dangerous as it leaves the country in a position of vulnerability. 

Unlike solar panels or wind turbines, gas is a very efficient form of energy and is much better for the environment than green NGOs would like people to believe. Shale gas can be extracted from the Earth by fracking, which is the process of drilling into rocks to collect gas from inside them. Fracking has been proven to be safe and does not contaminate groundwater or pose a threat to the buildings’ nearby harvesting sites. Fracking is also far better for the environment than mining, which is how the minerals for solar panels are collected. The United States and its Western allies, such as England, have large reserves of shale gas and technology to make it more environmentally friendly than gas from Russia and Saudi Arabia. However, at the moment, none of this energy or technology is being utilized. The root cause of this is protested by Russian-funded environmentalist groups, which have led to a halt in natural gas extraction in these countries.

It is time for the United States along with other Western countries to regain their energy independence by taking control of the energy market back from their advisories in the BRICS alliance.  Western countries need to start producing their own energy through the use of gas and nuclear power and no longer rely on Russian gas and “clean energy” from China. If such change does not happen, the countries in the BRICS  alliance will be in control of the world’s energy supply and economic market. This gives them the opportunity to switch the national currency, effectively weakening the U.S. and its allies’ economies.

As Delawareans, we can make a difference and motion for change both in our state and nationally. It’s time to start contacting our leaders and asking for a switch from energy sources produced by mining to natural gas. It is time that we stop letting our foreign adversaries weaponize the environment by spreading misinformation to sell us ineffective and in many cases environmentally harmful sources of energy. We need to fight this act of environmental injustice for the good of the planet and the economic prosperity of our nation and its Western allies. Having a strong West helps to maintain freedom and prosperity in the world.

Works Cited 

Campbell Charlie, China is Bankrolling Green Energy Projects Around the World,  Time, 2019,  https://time.com/5714267/china-green-energy/

Colton Emma, Russia duped Europe into energy dependence by funding ‘rabid environmental groups’: experts, Fox News, 2022, https://www.foxnews.com/world/russia-funding-environmental-groups-europe-united-state  

Darwall Robert, China’s Green NGO Climate Propaganda Enablers, Real Clear Energy, 2020 https://www.realclearenergy.org/articles/2020/12/21/chinas_green_ngo_climate_propaganda_enablers_654042.html   

Dravis Samantha, Stop Letting Environmental Groups Funded By Russia Dictate America’s Energy Policy, The Federalist, 2022 https://thefederalist.com/2022/03/01/stop-letting-environmental-groups-funded-by-russia-dictate-americas-energy-policy/ 

Gold Russell, Wind Power Was Thriving in Texas. Then Came the Freeze, The Wall Street Journal, 2021 https://www.wsj.com/articles/wind-power-was-thriving-in-texas-then-came-the-freeze-11614871347 

Golding Garret, Texas electrical grid remains vulnerable to extreme weather events, The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 2023 https://www.dallasfed.org/research/economics/2023/0117 

Greenburg John, Clean energy depends on Chinese materials. Is expanding it pro-China?, PoliFact, 2021 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/mar/29/cathy-mcmorris-rodgers/clean-energy-depends-chinese-materials-expanding-i/

Mathew Merrils, Investigate Russia’s covert funding of US anti-fossil fuel groups, The Hill, 2022 https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/596304-investigate-russias-covert-funding-of-us-anti-fossil-fuel-groups/ 

Mooney Kevin, Putin Is Funding Green Groups to Discredit Natural Gas Fracking, Newsweek, 2017, https://www.newsweek.com/putin-funding-green-groups-discredit-natural-gas-fracking-635052

Mooney Kevin, Russian-funded environmental group gave millions to anti-fracking groups, The Washington Examiner, 2018, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/?p=2330818

Reed Betsy, Russia ‘secretly working with environmentalists to oppose fracking’, The Guardian, 2014 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jun/19/russia-secretly-working-with-environmentalists-to-oppose-fracking

Ridley Matt, The plot against fracking: How cheap energy was killed by Green lies and Russian propaganda, The Critic, 2019  https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/december-2019/the-plot-against-fracking/ 

Rossomando John, Pro-Putin NGO Pushed Green New Deal, Protested Keystone XL Pipeline, Webber, 2022, https://weber.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1208