"Vic: Happy end of that one and beginning of this one" (opens in separate window)
what happened to the climate change cult?
friday, january 2nd, 2026
After decades of climate panic, the left quietly abandoned the weather—proof its causes shift not with science or facts, but with whatever outrage best sustains power, protest, and cultural revolt.
“Stand with Ukraine! Free Palestine! No one is illegal!”
Did I forget any other empty slogans? For the last eight years, the basement-dwelling interlocutors of the left have screamed and yelled for revolution, bearing their signs, blocking the streets, and bawling in front of politicians’ homes.
Conservatives and the general public have endured these mantras blasted all over social media and the airwaves. These empty epithets have dominated college campuses, overwhelmed classrooms and public squares, and featured prominently in debates, podcasts, and talk shows.
The left never tires of finding causes to fight for. Whatever declares war on the West, undermines natural law and basic reality, and places power above principle, the left lines up for the kill.
But there’s one slogan that has disappeared, one fight that has fizzled out:
The Climate Change Cult.
For the last twenty years, ever since Al Gore ended up without a job, liberal elites have clamored about the threats of global warming, rising sea levels, the carbon dioxide explosion in the skies, and that we had to do something, anything! before catastrophe struck.
Now, no one seems to care about the weather, least of all the left.
What happened?
Matt Ridley posits that the relentless doom and gloom tired out voters, who tuned out of hearing “The sky is falling!” because the sky was not falling.
I am sure the disproven blather about the polar ice caps disappearing in 2013 convinced people, too, as they are still shining, chilling, gelling, and taking up more space in Antarctica and the Arctic.
But here’s the thing: in 2014 and beyond, academics, pundits, and politicians were still raising widespread alarm about climate change, long after failed former Vice President Gore’s catastrophic conclusions melted away. I recall attending a campaign event for Marianne Williamson, a Tea Party of the left congressional candidate in Palos Verdes, CA, in 2014. She was passionate about climate change, and when I pressed her on the fact that most climate change fearmongering never came to pass, she cited a piddling study from the Los Angeles Times and then received a round of applause from her sycophant audience. After the meeting, three Boomers rushed up to me, trying to agitate me about the climate crisis and that we need to see the world through different eyes and try to understand their weathered fears and complaints.
Yeah, sure, whatever.
After Trump won his first term in 2016, he followed through on a key campaign promise to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord. Leftists took to the streets denouncing Orange Man Bad. Weekly marches bellowing about Evil Trump often included denunciations of his climate denialism.
Only after Election 2024 have we witnessed the marked decline in crying about the climate. The “No Kings” protests never mention it. There’s more to this political climate change than the fact that voters focused on other issues: crime, immigration, and the economy. After all, climate alarmists screamed about the weather for decades, whether the voters paid attention or not.
It’s not about the voters turning a deaf ear to the climate cult. It’s not the affordability issues that took everyone’s attention away from the weather. If we want to understand why climate change no longer matters to the left, look no further than Greta Thunberg.
A little background on the socially autistic Swedish girl manipulated for left-wing propaganda purposes is in order.
In 2019, she burst onto the stage, blurting out with staged outrage, “Entire ecosystems are collapsing, and all you care about is money! How dare you?!” Sure, she was reading from a script, and she was making a fool of herself, but it’s easy for a fool with a global megaphone to lead all the climate fools to buy into the message.
For four years, she wailed that all of us selfish people needed to stop using fossil fuels to stop the coming ecosystem carnage. She charmed corporate media, and San Francisco made a mural in her honor.
Then came October 7, 2023.
Suddenly, the Arab-Israeli conflict dominated the news, the college discussions, and the public square. The festering outrages over Israel (or Palestine) seized all the attention with growing contention.
The racialized, ethnic bigotry-based left found its key issue to build on the diminishing returns of Black Lives Matter. Let’s not forget that BLM activists had found time to squeeze in complaints about Israel and demand justice for Palestine while demanding the defunding of the police, the abolition of prisons, and the incarceration of all police officers (make it make sense!).
What’s more, disarrayed dissidents on the right, who harbor embittered sentiments toward Jews, found this new left-wing public outcry over Gaza to their liking, and they allied their hatred with them by bashing the IDF, but slipped in some Jew hatred without retribution.
Most importantly, Greta Thunberg went from screaming about the skies and the rising temperatures and sea levels to excoriating the so-called genocide in Gaza perpetrated by Israel. She even made a few trips to Gaza for the cause!
Add to this development the fact that climate change activists have witnessed their funding streams cut off because of Trump’s cost-cutting reforms. USAID funding propped up much of this climate alarmism, no doubt. All gone! Most of the indoctrination for climate alarmism came from the universities, and they are facing financial freefall from the Trump Administration. Promoting Islamic terror has its drawbacks, including massive cuts to funding for all programs, especially the push for climate change terror. No doubt, rising energy prices have pushed astroturf perennial activists to rethink their demands for an eco-friendly earth.
But the main issue is the all-consuming focus on Palestine. Thunberg’s transition galvanized the new fight and paved over climate alarmism. The all-consuming outrage about Jews and Israel and the broad opposition to Zionism is the main left-wing bugaboo now, crystallizing a surging hatred of mainstream America and the West with a stronger following and broader global support than climate alarmism could ever conjure up.
© 12.15.2025 by Arthur Schaper, "American Greatness".
A Day In The Life.
Up at 7:30a on Friday, a cold, 25°F, overcast, breezy morning, I upped the heat, made coffee, fired-up the Win-7 Pentium HP Desktop to let its 32 million lines of code load, had breakfast, had a couple smokes in the garage and checked the leftover errands list. I scanned the weather -- sleet, freezing rain and light snow coming -- and news, tuned into the "CP Show LIVE" at 9, and relaxed for the morning.
Because of the looming forecast for snow/sleet/freezing rain (same thing?)/hail etc, I decided to stay in, since any errands could be done later. I had the last of a pile of paperwork to go thru, check a few bills paid online, and try to track down a few HS chums to see if they were still with us. By 4:30p, it was dark, and temps were dropping, as freezing rain overtook the area. Cells, from Winter Storm "Cynthia", with hail, freezing rain and light snow blew thru, and it was an interesting evening. I had dinner, watched the news, and switched to Discovery's "Gold Rush" and "Gold Rush: Mine Rescue" until 1a. Lights out.
Up at 9:30a on Saturday, a cloudy, cold 31° morning, so I upped the heat, made coffee, and dialed-up some "CP Show" Podcasts on iHeart.com. Scanning the weather: there's even more Winter Storm coming on Monday afternoon/evening. Swell. I had breakfast, and organized the day.
With only one errand, I did that quickly, and was back home to Sis stopping by to drop-off 3 containers (1 for Sherry) of her famous Ham & Bean Soup, and a bit of light snow (no accumulation) around mid-afternoon. We had a nice visit, and after she left, I had lunch, then a 2hr nap on the LR couch. I watched the evening news, and some History Channel "Ancient Aliens" and TWC's "Countdown To Disaster" until 1a. Lights out.
Awake at 7:30a on Sunday, I rolled over and went back to sleep until 9:45, a cloudy, nippy 31°, windy morning, upped the heat, made coffee, checked the weather and news, and the next snow storm is 'scheduled' for 5p on Monday. Heh. I started the first of two loads of laundry, had breakfast and no F1 GP races until Spring 2026, so I'll have to watch some F1 replays of 2025 races. Meh.
I did a few condo chores, finished the laundry, and watched History's "American Pickers" thru dinner, into the midnight hour, when the day's replays began. Lights out.
Up at 8:45a on Monday, and no back pain(!), I upped the heat, made coffee, scanned the weather and news, and tuned into the "CP Show LIVE", with sub-host guy. A ***HIGH WIND ADVISORY*** was posted everywhere, and it was visible outside. I skipped breakfast, got ready for the day, and left at 12:30p for my usual 3+ errands trip to points south of York. Traffic was VERY HEAVY, but I made decent time, and was back around 2p.
I did some work on the 'prep shelves inventory' in the basement, and as it got dark, snow flurries were moving thru the area. The ***HIGH WIND ADVISORY*** continued. I had dinner, watched the evening news and switched to Discovery's "Ancient Aliens" until 1a; lights out.
I wasn't able to get to sleep until almost 4a, but got up around 9a, on Tuesday, anyway. I upped the heat, made a new carafe of Kona Coffee, and tuned into the "CP Show LIVE" -- sub-host still there -- and relaxed until 12:30p. Nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no one to do it with. Nice day ahead. the ***HIGH WIND ADVISORY*** continues into tomorrow. I had lunch, did 2 quick, nearby errands, grabbed 90mins on the LR couch, and watched the evening news. I was very tired and decided to get to sleep early, tonite. I watched History's "Curse of Oak Island" until 11:30, and unplugged.
Awake again at 5a and unable to get back to sleep, I got up, wasn't feeling well, but upped the heat, made coffee, had a piece of Rye toast, and scanned the news and weather. Food just didn't taste good, nor did the coffee. I sent Sherry a note to reschedule our afternoon together, as I don't want to give whatever I'm getting/got, to her. I left for the 11:15 Dr's app't, at 10:55.
The medical facility's parking lot was full, so I parked down the street, got thru registration, setting-up the next 9 week app't, Dr did the work, and I was out of there by 12:15p, and on the way home. Once home, I had a small lunch, started to crash from exhaustion, and hit the LR couch. I woke-up around 6:30p -- guess I was tired -- got some food, shook-off the disorientation, watched the news, and called Sherry around 8. We'll talk again tomorrow after 3p, since she has Family over for a New Year's dinner, and get some time together. I watched "American Pickers" until 12 midnight, and bagged it for the day.
★★★ SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ★★★
• A strong cold front moving in will help to generate a line of heavier snow showers and possibly embedded dangerous snow squalls across northwest and central Pennsylvania....
• We expect heavy snow showers and possible squalls to be on a line from: * Near Coudersport to Bradford to Warren between 10 and 11 pm. * Near Mansfield to St. Mary's to Dubois between 11 pm and midnight. * Near Jersey Shore to Lock Haven to Clearfield between midnight and 1 am. * Near Williamsport to State College to Altoona to Somerset between 1 and 2 am. * Near Bloomsburg to Harrisburg to Mechanicsburg between 2 and 3 am. * Near Lancaster to York between 3 and 4 am.
• If snow squalls develop, they will last for up to 10 to 15 minutes in any one location, with up to a half-inch to an inch of snow in that timeframe, along with possible wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph.
• This would result in a quick reduction in visibility and perhaps localized icy roads, should a flash freeze develop. Low traction and blinding visibility of a snow squall can make travel very dangerous very quickly. If this combination of ingredients becomes imminent, snow squall warnings would be issued, with very specific information on timing, movement, and portions of interstate highways to be affected.
• Please monitor the latest conditions in your area overnight if you will be out driving. Use extra caution if you must travel into a snow squall, slow down, and consider exiting the highway. Rapid changes in visibility and potentially slick roads may lead to accidents. Please use extreme caution and allow plenty of stopping distance. Avoid braking suddenly....
• Monitor the latest forecasts for updates on this situation.
Up at 7a on Thursday, aka New Year's Day, to a snow-coated (only ½"), partly sunny, cold 23° morning, upped the heat, made coffee, had a couple smokes in the cold garage, and scanned the news and weather. I transferred to the new 2026 calendar that I print from the Net every year, opened a 2026 IRS Tax File folder, and officially ended 2025. After a late breakfast, I did a few condo chores, and worked on changes to the "Journal" HTML pages, for 2026.
The snow melted fairly quickly, and I went out for a short walk to the community mailbox, in an empty complex; people and vehicles were MIA. I took a short snooze, called Sherry, and will see her tomorrow afternoon. Not much on the TV's evening news, so I switched to a couple new Discovery and History shows, whose names I can't remember, until 1a, and bagged it. Lights out.
Tomorrow starts a new week here in this "Journal", and it's a clear one for me. The regimen of Dr app'ts start at the end of the month and continue into March; I'm used to that. No biggie.
