The Climate Lie: How Both Parties Failed the Planet While China Passed Us By

Both parties lied — one denied, one exploited, and somewhere in between, we lost our shot at leading the climate revolution

A melting paper straw in a plastic cup — the perfect symbol of performative environmentalism. Image generated by ChatGPT with DALL·E. Free to use and modify.

I was a kid when Al Gore sounded the alarm. An Inconvenient Truth hit like a bolt of lightning, and suddenly, the climate wasn’t just some background issue — it was front and center. It had a face, a voice, and a clock ticking toward catastrophe. And for me, it became personal.

I was obsessed with wildlife and the natural world. ’s voice was practically a lullaby in my house. I watched every documentary I could find, transfixed by the beauty of the planet and the fragility we were constantly warned about.

I lay awake at night imagining the worst: Florida underwater, California cracking off into the sea, deserts swallowing the Southwest, coal plants belching poison into the sky. The ozone layer was thinning. The ice caps were melting. The oceans were rising. These weren’t just facts — they were fears that helped define who I am.

I remember teachers talking about carbon footprints, showing us graphs of sea level rise, and assigning us group projects on endangered species. It felt like we were preparing for a global…