THE SET-UP: Lee Zeldin is an attorney. He has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a law degree. He did military intelligence work while serving in the US Army. And he served in the New York State Senate and the U.S. House Of Representatives.
One thing he’s never been is a scientist, nor does he have a track record of experience in environmental, ecological, toxicological or climatic issues. And he admitted as much during a confirmation hearing exchange with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). Whitehouse asked him a series of basic questions about carbon dioxide … and, at one point, an annoyed Zeldin said, “I don’t sit before you as a scientist. Fortunately, at EPA we do have many talented scientists who provide that research.” Zeldin also said he “believes strongly that we should work with the scientists, leaving science to the scientist, the policy to the policymakers, and that we all work together.”
And then he was confirmed and he predictably set about the task of purging any science that threatened his policy goals. The tipping point came in a March 12th announcement of “31 actions” undoing a swathe of existing regulations in which Zeldin declared:
“We are driving a dagger straight into the heart of the climate change religion to drive down cost of living for American families, unleash American energy, bring auto jobs back to the U.S. and more.”
“Climate change religion.”
It’s a common refrain from climate recalcitrants and Old Time religionists. To those who don’t deny the ever-warmer reality they may even be experiencing first-hand, it probably sounds like the “pot calling the kettle black.” Denying climate change is usually rooted in the same anachronistic religious objections that still get raised when high schools try to teach evolution. Like climate, evolution has long been attacked as a “false religion.” Ken Ham of “Answers in Genesis” and the infamous Ark Experience theme park has said “zealous climate activism is a false religion with false prophets” who, according to a story on the legal career of Speaker Mike Johnson, have been “misled” into climate activism “because they hold to evolution and an ancient Earth.”
If you are not familiar with the nomenclature, the “ancient Earth” is the 4.5 billion year-old Earth of reality. But Ham and Speaker Johnson, who did legal work for Ham and the Ark Encounter theme park, believe in a “young Earth” that’s somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 years old, depending on how one does the Biblical math with the Bible’s myths. Instead of using the Earth’s sedimentary record, they calculate the generational “begets” to come up with the age of the Earth.
What that does is make marvels of geological time like the Grand Canyon impossible without the active hand of God. Forget erosion or selection. Natural laws, however predictable, cannot be responsible for canyons or people. They believe everything is the result of God’s guiding hand … from insect variation to the weather. Anything that doesn’t reaffirm that belief is a danger to their sense that they are the special apple of God’s eye … and not the incredibly strange issuance of a natural process that’s methodically played out over millions of years.
Let’s face it … if evolution is true, humans are animals … and many humans simply refuse to process the implications of that philosophical bombshell. That unwillingness has been a boon to the purveyors of hydrocarbons and their supporters in the GOP … like Lee Zeldin. In fact, Baptist News Global’s Steve Rabey responded to Zeldin’s declaration by tracing the recent evolution of American Christians from environmental enthusiasts in the 70’s into today’s reflexive climate deniers. Rabey cites Historian Neall Pogue’s work on the marriage of the GOP to Evangelicals as crucial to this evolution. That marriage spawned the attack that Zeldin parroted back in March:
One of the most effective arguments accused secular environmentalists of being earth worshipping extremists and participants in a conspiracy to promote New Age religions and a one world government that would destroy American capitalism.
Once they had the attack, the Evangelical media did what it does second-best … it spread the word:
[E]vangelical leaders used their broadcasting and publishing platforms to amplify the fossil fuel lobby’s strategy: “Reposition global warming as a theory rather than fact.”
And that’s led to today’s report that hundreds of scientists and researchers currently working on the sixth National Climate Assessment have been “dismissed” by Trump … thus pulling the plug on a report previously targeted for publication in 2028. They were assessing the warming climate’s impact on the US. But, nope … not anymore. Trump is not a denier … he’s an eraser and he, with the help of Lee “I don’t sit before you as a scientist” Zeldin, is erasing climate change from every corner of the US Federal Government. It’s a crusade against a false religion and, as such, they are burning books and sending apostates into exile. - jp
BTW: What does the Evangelical media do first-best? Take people’s money.
TITLE: Billions Eat This Staple Grain Daily, But Climate Change Could Poison the World’s Supply
https://www.foodandwine.com/arsenic-in-rice-climate-change-11719548
EXCERPTS: The way rice grows in water-filled paddies, along with its porous nature, allows it to easily absorb contaminants like arsenic. However, the researchers who partnered with scientists from China and Johns Hopkins for the report aimed to determine how rice and its contaminants will appear in the future.
To figure this out, the team cultivated 28 popular rice varieties in four open-air paddies in China's Yangtze River Delta from 2014 to 2023. They surrounded each paddy with metal rings to increase the surrounding air's carbon dioxide level by about 200 parts per million during the day, which is approximately the amount scientists believe will rise by the mid-21st century. They also equipped two of the sites with infrared heaters to maintain the water at about 2°C (3.6°F) warmer than usual, again to replicate the anticipated future climate.
The scientists would then periodically harvest grain, stems, and leaves, as well as mud samples, to measure the levels of arsenic and other microorganisms. They found that when carbon dioxide levels rose independently, arsenic levels in the rice kernels barely increased. When measuring the arsenic concentrations with an increase in temperature, arsenic levels rose noticeably higher. However, when heat and extra carbon dioxide were combined, the arsenic levels surged far more than either factor alone, which the authors called a "synergistic increase."
"Previous work has focused on individual responses — some on carbon dioxide and some on temperature, but not both, and not on a wide range of rice genetics," Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist and associate professor at Columbia University, told Climate News. "We knew that temperature by itself could increase levels, and carbon dioxide by a little bit. But when we put both of them together, then wow, that was really something we were not expecting. You're looking at a crop staple that's consumed by a billion people every day, and any effect on toxicity is going to have a pretty damn large effect."
Additionally, the researchers ran computer models for seven countries where rice is the main dish, including Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Vietnam. They used current rice consumption figures and projections for the 2050 populations, along with data collected from their sample rice fields. They found that under today's climate, approximately 13.4 million lifetime cancer cases in China can be attributed to arsenic in rice. However, under the warmer, high carbon dioxide scenario, that number will jump to 19.3 million. Across all seven countries, the risks of cancer and other chronic diseases rose by about 44%.
TITLE: Warming climate is creating chaos for growing seasons, habits
https://www.crainsdetroit.com/crains-forum-climate-change/urban-farming-detroit-sees-big-changes-warming-temps
EXCERPTS: At Keep Growing Detroit Farm, a 1.38-acre farm in the heart of Detroit’s Historic Eastern Market District, we are seeing the effects of climate change firsthand.
As farmers we are often asked, “What do you do in the winter?” We plan. Meticulously, collaboratively, and with intention. But it is increasingly difficult to work our plans when the once normal rhythms of the growing season are not only out of sync but also erratic.
Garlic is one of the most important crops that we cultivate at KGD Farm. It is an annual crop planted before the first frost in early November, it sprouts in March, and is harvested in early July. The garlic that we grow at KGD Farm is a Music variety that we have been cultivating here in Detroit for a while now and lovingly refer to it as Motown Music garlic. This crop is essential to our programming because it is distributed to the 2,500 gardens and farms that we support through the Garden Resource Program.
Last year we planted it the first week of November as usual, but because of the unseasonably warm temperatures, the garlic sprouted before November was over, making our crop vulnerable to frost and jeopardizing its distribution. At this time we also saw dandelions and strawberries flowering, plants that should be quintessential signs that summer is on its way.
By this time last year, we had half of our fields planted because of the unseasonably warm weather. This year, cold temperatures have halted our field planting plans and we are checking the weather on a weekly basis, waiting for the right moment to see our plans through.
Heavy rains continuously flood our site damaging crops and at times have rendered some fields inaccessible. In July 2024, we observed that about 60% of our carrot crop had succumbed to water damage. We decided to cut our losses and pull them from the field.
Excessive heat has also negatively affected our crops. In our high tunnel, we have seen leafy greens, like bok choy and lettuce, mature and then quickly flower known as “bolting” or “going to seed.” For cold-loving crops like these, this is a sign that the crop is nearing the end of its life cycle and has likely become bitter or tough.
In our greenhouse, we noticed that our fall crop transplants had tall, spindly stems that could not sufficiently support the top half of the plant. After further investigation, we discovered that this was because the excessive heat in the greenhouse stimulated fast upward growth without enough light to match, resulting in the plants striving upwards to access more light.
The high temperature makes these growing spaces intolerable for us farmers, too. When it’s 90 degrees outside, temperatures inside the high tunnel and greenhouse can climb to over 100 degrees.
The needle is constantly moving. So much of our time these days is spent figuring out how to move forward despite the unpredictable and extreme nature of the weather.
TITLE: Climate change is altering Wisconsin’s favorite crops https://badgerherald.com/news/science-news/2025/04/22/print-4-22-climate-change-is-altering-wisconsins-favorite-crops-zk/
EXCERPTS: Under rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns and growing climate volatility, crops across the globe are undergoing biological changes that affect their flavor, nutrition and resilience, according to FoodTank. In Wisconsin, scientists and farmers are already seeing and adapting to these changes.
From sweet corn to cranberries and from soybeans to potatoes, Wisconsin’s agricultural staples are highly sensitive to environmental shifts.
Higher average temperatures can cause sugar levels to rise in certain crops, making them taste sweeter, while others may turn more bitter or develop new pest pressures.
According to researchers like University of Wisconsin Professor of Food Science Bradley Bolling, these shifts are not just anecdotal. They are scientifically measurable and have real-world consequences for both farmers and consumers.
“There are so many different ways that plants and foods can respond to environmental stressors,” Bolling said, “Extreme precipitation or drought conditions can affect crop yield and even the nutritional content of plants.”
Rising temperatures have also been studied, and there’s growing research on how increases in carbon dioxide and ozone levels impact plant development, Bolling said.
While some changes may appear in taste or smell, the most noticeable early indicators of climate stress are visual, Bolling said.
For example, when cranberries are under stress, the berries can look scalded, and that can reduce their anthocyanin content, Bolling said.
Though it’s still challenging to measure the precise health impacts of climate-induced crop changes, alterations in phytochemical content and nutrient levels are likely, Bolling said.
“There are so many facets of climate that influence plants, and not all changes go in the same direction,” Bolling said. “One nutrient might increase while another decreases, so we need broad, complex experiments to really grasp what’s happening.”
He added that flavor compounds in fruits and vegetables, like volatile aromatics in tomatoes or sulfur compounds in brassicas, can shift depending on environmental stressors.
The same variety of a vegetable could taste noticeably different depending on the year, region or even microclimate where it was grown, Bolling said.
For Wisconsin, where agriculture contributes over $100 billion annually to the state economy, changes in crop quality and flavor could have wide-ranging implications.
UW Professor of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences Bill Tracy, a plant breeder and expert on sweet corn, emphasized that climate change is already hugely affecting crops in a variety of ways, not only in flavor and look, but pest pressure and crop loss.
The increasing frequency of extreme weather events is worrying as they are devastating to traditional cropping systems, Tracy said.
“Almost every year, we now have extreme weather events — severe rain, wind or hail — that can result in complete crop loss,” Tracy said. “If you get a corn crop knocked out by hail, that’s it for the season.”
These weather extremes also contribute to soil erosion and runoff, both of which reduce long-term agricultural productivity, Tracy said.
Tracy noted that well-managed soil, particularly soil rich in carbon, can better absorb water and mitigate flooding.
Building soil health, then, becomes a key climate resilience strategy.
To adapt, Tracy and other plant breeders are developing new crop varieties tailored to the changing climate.
“There’s growing momentum in building sustainable food systems,” Bolling said. “We’re already seeing teams of researchers looking at which diets reduce greenhouse gas emissions the most — and how those diets affect public health.”