Because I care and write about our great outdoors, I’m interested in the world around us. As global warming/climate change was a part of the Democrat party’s platform, we’re now going to hear a lot about it. After reading Michael Shellenberger’s Apocalypse Never, I feel that some of the hype needs to be set straight.

Shellenberger is a champion of the greener planet movement, and he led a successful effort by climate scientists to keep nuclear plants operating. As some claimed in 2019 that “billions of people were going to die,” he felt that he needed to speak out to separate fact from fiction, and he has written on energy and the environment for The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. He is also an invited expert reviewer for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Though Shellenberger believes that man has played a part in climate change, he does not forsee the gloom and doom as preached by many celebrities and politicians.

Shellenberger tells us that carbon emissions peaked and have been declining for more than a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80% over the last four decades. The risk of the Earth warming to higher temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to a slowing population growth and abundant natural gas. The real problem? We have too many ignorant self-appointed “experts” making erroneous claims.

Who are some of these people? According to Leonardo DiCaprio, “The reason these wildfires have worsened is because of climate change.” Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is quoted as saying, “It’s the end of California as we know it……The world is going to end in twelve years if we don’t address climate change.” Some experts. Why does the media give these people the time of day? I won’t call them liars, but I will call them ignorant.

The real truth of the matter is that there has been a 92% decline in the death toll from natural disasters since its peak in the 1920’s, and that’s with a global population that has nearly quadrupled. What about food production? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concludes that crop yields will increase significantly under a wide range of climate change scenarios.

Let’s look at Florida. Florida experienced 18 major hurricanes between 1900 and 1959, but just 11 between 1960 and 2018. Regarding death tolls, when a hurricane hits Florida, it might kill no one. When that same hurricane hits Haiti, thousands may die through drowning and disease epidemics. The difference? Florida has wealth and infrastructure. Haiti is a poor nation that lacks these things. There’s another way to look at this. Since 1940, the USA has lost 3322 people to hurricanes. The Southeast Asia Tsunami of 2004 took 225,000 lives.

Support wind and solar electricity, and welcome the advent of electric vehicles, but don’t buy into the horror that might be preached in the foreseeable future.

My West-River deer tag for Corson County read “Any Deer” for the season that opened on Saturday, November 14th. Mike Hall and I hunted while the legendary Howard Bich, who didn’t have a deer tag, trod over the landscape. Other than the wind, the weather was comfortably moderate. We were up at 5:00 A.M. and at our chosen posts by 6:00 A.M. for a 6:42 sunrise. I found it interesting that while many hunters tout the importance of morning coffee, we were compatible to the point that none of us like coffee or the smell of it. Orange juice and Howard’s fresh-baked caramel rolls gave us a good start.

Saturday morning found Mike and I perched on a rim overlooking the Grand River when we spotted a distant flock of grouse headed our direction. At least forty flew over the top of us, and we could have bagged some with tennis rackets. I spent the afternoon in the calving barn area while Mike took a stand on a rim above the north side of the Grand. Mike wanted a trophy or nothing, and he passed on many lesser deer. I wasn’t particular as I can neither shoot nor walk like I once did, and in the early evening I took a not-so-trophy 3x3 mule deer buck.

For the past 2-3 years, the area has been ravaged by EHD (Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease), and whitetail deer numbers were the lowest I’ve seen on that ranch in fifty years of hunting it. In our estimation, mule deer outnumbered whitetails by at least a two to one ratio. Stuart, our rancher host, has found numerous dead whitetails including a trophy buck that was confiscated by SD Game, Fish, & Parks. I’m curious as to what SDGF&P is going to do with that buck.

Next week we’ll look at my very eventful East River deer hunt.