Net Zero Failures, Climate Realities, and Economic Freedom

On November 12, 2024, Cathy Russell, Steve Goreham, and Producer Luke joined the show. Russell shares her journey from lifelong Democrat and climate believer to Trump supporter, sparked by COVID skepticism and deep research into climate science Goreham analyzes Trump’s expected rollback of climate regulations, Lee Zeldin’s EPA appointment, COP29 hypocrisy, and the growing lithium battery fire epidemic that governments are ignoring while mandating.

From Climate Believer to Trump Supporter: A Scientist’s Journey

Start listening at 14:13 – Hour 1

Cathy Russell, a microbiologist with a PhD and author at FreeBoulder.org, describes her transformation from a lifelong Democrat who believed humans were a cancer on the planet to an ardent Trump supporter. Russell traces her awakening to the COVID pandemic, when she began questioning narratives she had accepted throughout her scientific education. Her investigation into climate science revealed that the apocalyptic predictions driving policy decisions lacked solid foundation.

Russell recounts a striking incident at a Boulder lecture where she was physically removed by three police officers after politely correcting the speaker’s claim that Trump wanted to be a dictator. The experience crystallized her concerns about intellectual freedom and the danger of fear-based narratives that shut down legitimate discourse.

“But to me, the more devastating aspect of the whole climate change narrative is that humans are a cancer on the planet.”

Cathy Russell, Author and Scientist

Climate Policy’s Coming Reversal Under Trump

Start listening at 30:03 – Hour 1

Steve Goreham, Executive Director of the Climate Science Coalition of America and author of four books with over 100,000 copies in print, analyzes the sweeping changes expected under the incoming Trump administration. Goreham points to Lee Zeldin’s appointment as EPA administrator as particularly significant, noting that most U.S. climate regulations flow from EPA policies that went largely unchallenged during Trump’s first term.

Goreham delivers sobering statistics: the world still derives 81% of its energy from coal, oil, and natural gas, the same as in 1999, despite 29 United Nations climate conferences. He predicts Trump will again withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement and roll back electric vehicle mandates that 22 states, including Colorado, have adopted. The COP29 conference currently underway in Baku, Azerbaijan, where 50,000 delegates are meeting, represents what Goreham calls one of the year’s biggest carbon dioxide emitting events.

“What this push for net zero means is higher energy prices and electricity blackouts, less freedom, because they want to force people to get rid of their gasoline cars and their natural gas stoves.”

Steve Goreham, Executive Director, Climate Science Coalition of America

The Lithium Battery Fire Epidemic

Start listening at 46:54 – Hour 1

Goreham exposes a growing crisis governments are ignoring: lithium battery fires. Recent incidents include recycling plant fires in Scotland and Missouri that burned for days, a Mercedes electric vehicle in South Korea that exploded while parked and destroyed 140 vehicles, and a grid-scale battery fire that blocked Interstate 15 in California for 44 hours, stranding travelers in 100-degree heat. E-bike battery fires have become New York City’s leading cause of fires, with more than 200 incidents and over 10 deaths in the past two years.

Rent Control and Minimum Wage: Economic Fallacies Exposed

Start listening at 67:00 – Hour 2

Producer Luke and Producer Joe join Kim for the latest installment of their Economics in One Lesson book club, examining Henry Hazlitt’s analysis of rent control and minimum wage laws. Luke acknowledges understanding the good intentions behind such policies but argues they function as band-aid solutions that avoid addressing root causes. Joe observes that rent control creates distorted incentives, allowing luxury housing to flourish while affordable housing stagnates.

The discussion turns personal when caller Ron describes watching his 40-year-old apartment building raise rents from $1,100 to $2,300, pushing out elderly residents. Kim connects this to government subsidies that artificially inflate surrounding rents and the influx of illegal immigrants increasing housing demand.

“I personally believe that any person who works a full 40-hour work week should have as an assurance that they can get three meals a day and a roof over their head.”

Producer Luke