Mission Statement:

First and Foremost, there is no such thing as a Climate Emergency in Wichita, KS, or any other place on Planet Earth.

The reality is that there is absolutely nothing that we can, or should even attempt to do, to 'mitigate' climate in Wichita, KS. Therefore, the Proposed Wichita Climate Action & Mitigation Plan(The Plan) should be dismissed , virtually entirely, save some suggestions that can help to improve our local Environment.

The goal of this organization is to inform the reader of the facts that are relevant to the straightening of the misinformation that propagates the notion of some sort of Climate Emergency, and further, to offer common-sense suggestions on how we in Wichita can actually improve our local Environment.

The common belief is that emissions of the natural substance, CO2, are creating adverse conditions on the planet. We find very strong evidence to the contrary, especially when it comes to increasing crop yields, actual greening of the planet in areas such as the Sahara Desert, to name a few.

Comments on the 'Survey' that has been constructed to gauge Opinion for the City Council:

The 'Survey' linked to The Plan was worded/constructed on the assumption that the Climate in Wichita, KS, can and should somehow be altered, such that measurable and useful benefits can accrue to mitigate the supposedly negative Climate in Wichita, KS.

The Plan was underwritten by the Wichita Public Works & Utilities Department, and The Wichita Sustainability Integration Board(SIB). While their efforts are appreciated, we wish to emphasize that much of The Plan is based on 'Climate Risk and Vulnerability'. We will show, with unequivocal, taxpayer-funded data, that these purported risks and vulnerabilities simply do not exist.

• Does Wichita have periodic Extreme Heat? Yes.

• Does Wichita experience periodic Extreme Precipitation and Flooding? Yes.

• Does Wichita periodically experience Severe Storms and Winds? Yes.

• Does Wichita periodically experience Drought? Yes.

However, we do not consider these reoccurring Weather Events to be anything out of the ordinary. That is what is demonstrated by hundreds of years of Weather Data. To make the assumption that we in Wichita, KS, can have any demonstrable effect on these absolutely natural phenomena is simply false.

The Actual Data associated with Climate (Not Weather)

Every Tax-paying citizen of the United States plays a role in capturing real, mostly credible, weather data, which over significant periods of time can then be viewed as related to climate. It is also becoming all to obvious that some of the weather data has been manipulated, or gathered by means that are inappropriate, or not properly constrained. That means the data are contaminated, by location in proximity to abnormal heat sources (urban heat island effect). Some data has been 'adjusted' by non-scientific, biased methods. We are not going to delve into those problems here. Just be aware that such conditions do exist. The now infamous 'Hockey Stick' is a great example of substantial mishandling of temperature data.

Here we present actual, unaltered Temperature data indicating Daily Record Maximum (red)/Minimum (blue) Temperatures over the past 96 years in the 741 Stations within United States Historical Climate Network (USHCN). Notice that the vast majority of the Record Maximum Temperatures occurred before 1954.

This graphic is focused on our city neighbor to the North, Manhattan. As can clearly be seen, the intense heat experienced during the very real Dust Bowl years had nothing to do with anything man could have ever controlled. Nor has this unique temperature phenomena been matched since that time. This temperature record extends from 1893 to 2021.

At the present time, Wichita, and much of Kansas, is experiencing drought conditions. The City of Wichita took appropriate action in reducing water consumption, in an effort to replenish the surface water reservoir at Cheney Lake.

Monthly Fraction of US with Very Wet (flood-like) or

Very Dry (drought) Conditions

Jan 1895 – Dec 2020 NOAA/NCDC (20 driest months before 1988)

The fact of the matter is that we can no more impose our will on the cycles of precipitation, than we can control the waves on the ocean. Notice that this record commenced in 1895.

The one thing that is abundantly clear in this record, and those presented before, is that they bear no relationship whatsoever to global population, combustion of hydrocarbons, and thus release of CO2 into the atmosphere. NONE WHATSOEVER.

While there is abundant evidence from other factors affecting earth's climate, the focus here is what has been laid out in the Wichita Climate Action & Adaptation Plan.

We wholeheartedly agree with the following statement below, offered by a brilliant Emeritus Professor of Meteorology, from none other than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Richard Lindzen.

Richard Lindzen

Retired Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology - MIT

“What historians will definitely wonder about in future centuries is how deeply flawed logic, obscured by shrewd and unrelenting propaganda, actually enabled a coalition of powerful special interests to convince nearly everyone in the world that CO2 from human industry was a dangerous, planet-destroying toxin. It will be remembered as the greatest mass delusion in the history of the world - that CO2, the life of plants, was considered for a time to be a deadly poison.”

Suggestions for Being Good Stewards of the Environment

Within the Plan, we see some items that the SIB (Sustainability Integration Board) group has identified that may bring net benefits to the community.

These would NOT include any of the suggestions in the Plan that focus on Vulnerable Groups and Communities, starting on page 9 of the Plan. The Plan has identified perhaps as much as half of the City of Wichita as being included in that sector.

In particular, we have strong disagreement with the ”EPA's selected environmental justice indicators"(page 10). We find that there is no evidence that would support the attempt to create a "thriving eco-friendly city".

In fact, we find that some actions already taken by the City have introduced some high risk factors that adversely impact the health of our citizens. On page 23, Item II C, of the Plan, the city has already reported 2,040 crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists during the period 2012-2022. We ask, what is eco-friendly about that? We would submit that creating more bike paths on streets that are designed for motor vehicles is not only irresponsible, but potentially deadly policy-making.

We would also offer strong objections to adding more EV-powered Public Transportation, in particular EV-buses, in which the City has already invested significant tax dollars. We suggest, no-we demand, that the City cease expending any more dollars in those highly inefficient, expensive to operate vehicles, including, and especially hybrid-powered vehicles.

If the planners of the future ICT believe we are immune from the dangers of what is seen below, we beg to disagree

Key Electric Car Fire Statistics (2023)a

• Electric-powered vehicles have the least risk of catching fire according to data from NTSB.

• Hybrid-powered vehicles are at the highest risk of catching fire.

• Battery-electric vehicles are only .03% likely to ignite, compared to 1.5% for gas-powered vehicles and 3.4% for hybrid vehicles.

• During 2018, vehicle fires caused $1.9 billion in direct property damage in the US.

a https://www.carjunkya.com/electric-car-fire-statistics/

EV batteries consist of lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite.b

b https://electriccartalks.com/raw-material-for-electric-vehicle-battery/

Lithium: Reserves and Mining

Lithium is a key part of EV batteries. The biggest lithium reserves are in Chile, Australia, and Argentina. Miners get lithium from salt flats and hard rock.

Salt flat mining uses less water than hard rock mining. But it takes longer to get the lithium. Hard rock mining is faster but costs more.

China processes most of the world’s lithium, creating a bottleneck in the supply chain. To meet growing demand, more lithium mining and processing are starting in other countries.

Cobalt: Supply and Ethical Considerations

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has most of the world’s cobalt, which creates risks in supply chains.

There are worries about working conditions in DRC cobalt mines. Some miners work in dangerous places. Others are very young.

Nickel helps EV batteries store more energy. Indonesia, the Philippines, and Russia have large nickel reserves.

Not all nickel works for batteries. Battery makers need a special kind called Class 1 nickel. This type is harder to find.

Indonesia is increasing its nickel production. However, some worry about the environmental impact of new mines.

Graphite is used in battery anodes. China produces most of the world’s graphite, but other countries are starting to mine it.

Manganese helps make batteries safer. It’s found in many places around the world.

Furthermore, we wish to bring to the attention of the Wichita public, the significant downside related to the deployment of Electric Buses in our transportation fleet. Evidence is clearly emerging that confirms the marketplace for those vehicles is in a seriously downward trajectory.

Nickel: Importance and Supply Chain

Please read carefully the contents within this link:

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/electric-buses-sitting-unused-cities-across-the-us

Very strong evidence is coming out into the open, as to the extremely negative impacts to the environment, associated with the mining of rare-earth elements from around the globe. These are the products necessary to build solar panels, and to build nacelles that generate the power from wind turbines, both onshore and offshore, certainly EV's as well.

More and more evidence is accruing that clearly present a much different picture than is portrayed by the conventional media regarding the massive development of purported 'green' renewable energy. Clearly, we can do better, and if proper policy-making comes into play, then we will certainly advance global cultures that desperately need electricity to light their homes, power their factories, improve electric grid stability, etc. You want to talk about 'underserved communities'(?)...look deeply into the core of virtually the entire continent of Africa.

For far too long, we have been misinformed, and brainwashed into thinking that hydrocarbons are negative, and harmful to the environment. The actual facts speak much more loudly than the theories behind what are moving us away from beneficial products for mankind. These theoretical solutions have never stood the test of proper Cost/Benefit Analysis, and now we are paying ever steepening prices for products that have destabilized our national grid. The result has been brownouts and blackouts at various locales across the globe. Just ask the German people how these renewable mandates are doing to their once vibrant industries.

We see very little, if any, indication that the Plan has done the necessary research to confirm Return on Investment (ROI), for any of the proposals that would, with certainty, create new, unnecessary tax burdens on citizens inside the City Limits of Wichita.

We would expect our leaders to provide credible evidence of ROI associated with any given application that might come out of the Plan. A perfect example of a lack of ROI, outside the Plan, is the $1.2 million expended for the art pieces around the new, yet to open, Water Treatment facility. We would disagree that ROI fits the "Percent for Art" Ordinance passed by the City Council in 2019, before construction of the new Water Treatment Facility was initiated.

Plan Goals & Targets

This is where, within the Plan, Mitigation and Adaptation are discussed with respect to 'greenhouse gas emissions'. As we discussed earlier, we have no concerns whatsoever with the present level of CO2 emissions. That position is based on the evidence that CO2 has profoundly positive influence on virtually all plants. Some respond with greater, healthier growth outcomes, but there is NO plant that does not benefit from it. Actual greenhouses are the perfect example of what happens when the concentration of CO2 is increased.

Therefore, we are totally opposed to any attempts to 'mitigate', or control CO2 concentration in Wichita. On the contrary, if the Plan is to reduce the concentration of CO2, it will actually be working against nature, and it will introduce undesirable effects.

Here is evidence that speaks to what positive outcomes occur with INCREASING concentration of CO2, compared to the natural background (From the Far Left Leaning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). As can readily be seen, for the entire period of observation, 1950-2015, the yields of various crops increased markedly, thus increasing, not decreasing, food security.

Real Data Inside An IPCC Report

We hope you agree that food security is a significant challenge for a large number of countries across the globe. Given that reality, we strongly encourage the authors and participants in the Draft Plan to reconsider any discussion that speaks about mitigating / significantly altering the concentration of CO2 in earth's atmosphere.

Furthermore, we believe the actual data that we have presented with respect to state, national, and global temperature seriously refutes the suggestion that CO2 has contributed to anything approaching a 'climate crisis'.

Additional References:
1. New Year’s Resolution to Embrace CO2 Emissions and Benefits - CO2 Coalition

You didn’t come this far to stop