In denial about their failed climate policy, some on the left try to silence WPC
“Market forces are the real environmental hope for the future.”
If InfluenceMap, a left-wing activist group based in London, has its way, Facebook will ban statements like that, which they call “climate misinformation.” The group released a study that seeks to ban so-called “climate science disinformation in Facebook advertising.” In their attack, the group highlights Facebook ads from groups like PragerU, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and Washington Policy Center (WPC).
Only this one ad from WPC was included in their “study,” which we spent about $270 to run once. Note that the ad says nothing about “climate” or even “science.” So, what about it scares them?
The free market scares them – people making voluntary choices in their lives in ways that help the environment. That’s why they hate the ad. They are worried that people will begin to realize that it is the free market, not politics, that destroys climate change and pollution.
As we’ve noted several times, the radical Left is in denial about the failure of their climate policy. Washington state policymakers are missing all their climate goals. King County officials are on track to achieve only four percent of their promised CO2 reductions by 2020. Seattle politicians missed every climate target they set and a new national study gives the city zero points for meeting climate goals.
To many on the far Left, climate change is a useful political weapon. To ensure it continues to be a political tool, politicians and greens do two things.
- Hide their own failures. As we’ve noted, Washington officials actively hid the data showing they are failing to meet their own CO2-reduction targets.
- Try to silence any opponents. InfluenceMap cites two U.S. Senators who are threatening Facebook with government action if they don’t block ads like ours.
InfluenceMap is just one part of that effort, and the fact that they chose to target an ad that doesn’t even mention climate change shows how desperate they are. Or maybe incompetent.
(It is worth noting that while InfluenceMap claims to be worried about “science,” the source for their list is a group run by Brendan DeMelle, who helped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. write numerous anti-vaccination articles – including those later retracted by Rolling Stone magazine and Salon – and he has attacked biotechnology crops.)
To be sure, there are folks across the opinion spectrum who do care about good environmental stewardship. In discussions with many on the Left who are truly concerned about environmental policy, I almost always find some common ground. We work with many of them, including Governor Inslee’s former salmon advisor (who agrees we need to protect the Snake River dams), tribes working to improve salmon populations, and others on the Left and Right willing to demand results, not just political rhetoric.
By way of contrast, the most radical voices on the Left will continue to fail and blame. We will continue to tell the truth about their failures, continue to defend the free exchange of ideas, and to show what real stewardship looks like.
