Climate change is not a hoax just because the president elect says it is. It’s no more a hoax than evolution is.  And it’s no more a hoax than God is.  It is like many other hotly contested dramas humans entertain themselves with. Climate change can be compared to the question of when life begins.  And it can be as hotly debated.  Ultimately, it’s up to each and every one of us to determine where on the value scale we stand.  

Pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord doesn’t have to mean the United States will simply take a step backward and return to its old polluting ways.  Real strides have been made with green energy.  All you have to do is take a drive along the highways of Kansas and see fields of wind turbines producing energy that power the major cities of our country.  With all the investment that’s gone into this new infrastructure, it wouldn’t make sense to come to a full stop now.  We need to keep the accord in perspective--it is not a scientific solution.  It’s a political device.  The people of the United States will still make the decisions about how and where our money gets spent, like we do every single day. We vote every time we make a purchase or pay a bill.

Bottom line, just because the president elect says climate change is a hoax, that shouldn’t be seen as an invitation to run out and buy gluttonous gas guzzling automobiles or leave all the lights and the television on when we go to bed.  Conservation is more than a feel-good granola hippie liberal tactic. It really saves money and resources, and regardless of who is president, that’s a good thing.