Trump RNC Speech Silent on Climate Change, Continues Bitter Fight Against Wind Farm in Scotland

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Is it any surprise that
Donald Trump—who believes the “concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive”—did not mention climate change even once in his rambling speech accepting the Republican nomination for president last night in Cleveland?

Donald Trump accepts the Republican party’s nomination for president of the United StatesFlickr

Trump’s red-faced speech, which clocked in at a record-length of 1 hour and 16 minutes, depicted a broken, crime-ridden nation that he “alone can fix it,” but made no indication he’d fix one of the
greatest threats to national security: climate change.

The Republican nominee’s clear lack of support for the environment has drawn criticism from environmental advocates.

“Donald Trump has never been at a loss for words, but his address tonight was silent on the rising climate crisis threatening American communities across the nation,” Sierra Club political director Khalid Pitts said.

“In one of the most dark and foreboding nomination speeches in our history, its tone foreshadows the fate which awaits environmental protections if he is elected president. While Trump spoke of American leadership and strength, if elected, he would be the only head of state on earth to deny the science and dangers of climate change, undermining America’s global leadership and weakening our position before every negotiation we face.”

As
EcoWatch reported last week, a study from the Sierra Club Political Committee revealed that not only would Trump be the only world leader to deny climate change if elected president, he’d possibly be the only one not calling for urgent climate action. He even wants to renegotiate the Paris climate deal, because he believes it treats the U.S. unfairly and gives favorable treatment to his nemesis, China.

“Never before has a major party nominated someone so uniquely unfit for the job; Trump completely and utterly lacks the good judgment, sound temperament, and character needed in the White House,” Clay Schroers, the campaigns director at the League of Conservation voters, said.

“On its own, his blatant ignorance of basic science and insistence that climate change is a hoax should disqualify Trump, but his racist rhetoric, ugly campaign and full embrace of the dirty fossil fuel industry put the matter to rest. Donald Trump is an unacceptable nominee, and should never be president.”

The Republican National Convention speaker line-up this week reflected the GOP’s storied legacy of climate denial, with fossil fuel billionaire and major fracking proponent Harold Hamm given a prime-time slot at the convention Wednesday night. Hamm, who advises Trump on energy and environmental issues, made his billions at the expense of the Earth and its people and has silenced Oklahoma state geologists who’ve linked fracking activity to the state’s alarming spate of earthquakes.

Mike Pence, Trump’s VP pick, is also a known climate denier and has repeatedly tried to block the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/statuses/756338260230623232

Trump, whose presidential campaign is built on fear-mongering and racist rhetoric, once admitted that he intentionally says provocative things to keep his audience riled up. However, if an issue threatens the billionaire’s own self-interests, he means business.

The Guardian reported today that Trump is continuing his bitter fight against a wind farm being built near his luxury golf resort in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, calling the renewable energy project an act of “public vandalism.”

Even though the UK Supreme Court unanimously rejected the mogul’s appeal against the offshore wind farm of 11 turbines, a spokesperson for The Trump Organization told the Guardian that Trump will be lodging formal objections and will pursue further action in European courts if necessary.

The Trump Organization had denounced the Scottish government’s 92.4-megawatt wind farm project as “foolish, small minded and parochial,” according to Reuters.

Many Aberdeenshire locals have protested Trump’s golf course. The documentary You’ve Been Trumped depicts how the the land Trump purchased sits on one of “Europe’s most environmentally sensitive stretches of coast, described by one leading scientist as Scotland’s Amazon rainforest,” according to the film’s website.

By no coincidence, You’ve Been Trumped was shown at the Capitol Theatre in Cleveland Wednesday evening with Michael Forbes, the Scottish farmer branded “a pig” by Trump and his farm “a slum” after standing in the way of the billionaire’s luxury golf course development, and director Anthony Baxter on hand for Q&A after the film.

Watch the trailer below:

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