When the Science of #ClimateChange Meets the Silence of #ClimateDeniers

The Silence of #ClimateDeniers

As record-breaking heat sweeps the world, Don Kenobi asks a simple question: Where are the politicians and preachers who spent years mocking climate science? A reflection on silence, propaganda, Herman Cain, and the Marlboro Man.

Where Are They?

With record-breaking heat.

Literally record-breaking heat.

All the Republicans and evangelicals who oppose the science of climate change...

Where dem dey? You can't find them.

(Probably laughing at the rest of us from behind the glass walls of their air-conditioned penthouses).

The Marlboro Man

They're like the Marlboro Man.
Big. Strong. Virile.

On horseback. A Marlboro dangling from his lips, advertising the life-enhancing benefits of cigarette smoking.

No one tells you that the Marlboro Man died of lung cancer.

There were no cameras to record his decline. The tubes running through his nostrils, helping him breathe.

Marlboro, which paid him for as long as he fit their narrative, never showed up at the hospital to hold his hand.

And?

And another Marlboro Man has since taken his place.
Sitting on another horse.
Big. Strong. Virile.

And Marlboro pays him too, for as long as he fits their narrative.

The Useful Idiot

Herman Cain fits this pattern.

He publicly supported a political movement that mocked precautions and downplayed the danger of COVID-19.

Then he contracted the virus and died.
Afterwards, the movement moved on.
Another loyal face took his place.

That is how the useful idiot works.
Celebrated while useful.

Forgotten when the narrative no longer needs him.

While the Earth Burns...

So? So, while the earth burns....

...the deceivers of the world stay as silent as they possibly can, hoping you'll forget their lies and perfidy.

But not for long.

The moment winter temperatures drop to -45°C, they'll be back on Fox News, performing the same old routine: moulding a snowball, throwing it at the camera, and mocking:

"See? Where is your global warming now?"

From My Molue

Me? I just de look from my Molue, thinking...
Perhaps they hope to be safely tucked away on Mars.

Or wealthy enough to surround the beaches they frequent, the golf courses they play, and the penthouses they own with climate-controlled domes.

Perhaps they believe air conditioning can negotiate with a changing planet.

Could that explain the frantic transfer of wealth to the very top?
I don't know.

As I said...

I just de look from my Molue.
Jeje.

Fitfully, I rest.

Don Kenobi

#BigAgendaAfrica 
#MolueMonologues
#OldManInTheMolue 
#MyFrancisEssays 

Originally written: 16 July 2023

STOP PRESS (9 July 2026)

The headlines keep coming...

• Western Europe recorded its hottest June ever, driven by exceptionally warm land and sea temperatures.

• More than 2,700 excess heat-related deaths are estimated in England and Wales following the May and June heatwaves.

• A powerful heat dome brought record-breaking temperatures across the western United States, stressing ecosystems and communities.

• Extreme heat is damaging Europe's infrastructure, buckling railways, softening roads, straining power grids and affecting airports.

• Northern India has exceeded 48°C (118°F), with rising hospital admissions and millions struggling to cope with the heat.

• Pressure is mounting in the UK for legal workplace temperature limits to protect workers during extreme heat.

• Heat, drought and wildfires have combined to create unprecedented "firewave" conditions across parts of the UK.