Global Warming – What Not To Do

I recently read an article by Professor Victor Davis, who is an historian at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, which got me to thinking about the fix Europe now finds itself in, brought on by its energy policies, and how we can avoid the same as we consider global warming.
We have reason to believe that global warming may be caused, at least in part, by man’s energy use. Because Europe has been concerned about this issue longer than we have, we should see what we can learn from them. I find Professor Davis’s thinking helpful here.
His article, “How Europe Made Itself Dependent on Nefarious Oil Powers,” published by the Tribune Content Agency, points to a number of problems Europe is now encountering , and which we need to avoid, as we make our way forward.
Europe, like America, is rich in fossil fuels, but they ban or heavily restrict development of their resources, to the point that Europe is now virtually reliant upon Russian, African and Middle Eastern sources. Further, because they lack sufficient naval and other military strength, they cannot guarantee that the fuel will actually arrive.
Additionally, 30% of their energy comes from Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which means, “In times of crisis, Putin could exercise de facto control over the European economy.
“In other words, Europe refuses to develop its own gas and oil reserves, and won’t fund the necessary military power to ensure that it can safely import energy from problematic or even hostile sources. It’s no wonder that Europe’s traditional foreign policy reflects these crazy paradoxes.
“Energy neediness explains why the EU was so eager to maintain the so-called ‘Iran deal’ with the theocracy in Tehran, and also why it was nervous about the anti-Russia hysteria that arose in the United States after the 2016 election.”  
Another source of concern is that “Americans appear not so ready as in the past to enter the world’s hotspots to ensure unimpeded commercial use of sea and air lanes for the benefit of others.”  Without sufficient military power of their own, they are vulnerable.
“The EU loudly promotes freedom and democracy abroad, but it is careful to keep ties with oil-exporting Middle Eastern autocracies that are antithetical to every value Europeans promote.
“Germany agrees with its allies that Russian imperial agendas could threaten European autonomy. But privately, Berlin reassures Putin’s Russia that it wants to buy all the gas and oil that Moscow has to sell. Germany increasingly seems far friendlier with a suspicious Russia than it is with an America that protects it.”
Let me add here, they rely upon us, in great measure, for their security, in particular for keeping the sea lanes open, but that is no longer a mutual need. They had a big brother to protect them in the past, but that is now in question. Fortunately for us, we never had a big brother, so we were forced to remain strong. 
“In sum, what ensures that Europeans have enough daily gasoline and home heating fuel are not batteries, wind farms, and solar panels—much less loud green proselytizing. They count instead on a mercurial Russia, an array of unstable Middle Eastern governments, and an underappreciated U.S. military. In a logical world, Europeans would retake control of their own destiny. That recalibration would entail beefing up their military power, and their navies in particular.
“They also would begin to frack and horizontally drill. Europeans would push ahead with more nuclear power, hydroelectric projects, and clean-coal technologies—at least until new sources of clean energies become viable…”
If we cannot follow the European green model, what do we do about the planet’s ongoing changes if, indeed, we conclude that man is triggering them?  My answer is: seek solutions. Our common sense tells us that the European head-in-the-sand approach won’t address the issue, but would ultimately cost us control of our destiny, and deprive us of our prosperity and liberty.