CFACT’s National Field Director Greg Neff went to University of Michigan-Dearborn with Leadership Institute Regional Field Coordinator Nolan Akerman to engage students about the false narrative that “climate change is harming wildlife” and that “fossil fuels should be eliminated” to save them.
Nolan wore a large polar bear costume and held a sign declaring that polar bear populations have more than doubled and states, “climate change is not a threat”. As curious students passed by, Greg engaged them with intriguing questions to foster conversation about climate change and wildlife.
According to Greg, “Students were surprised to learn that polar bear numbers were rebounding. Several thanked us for the information and many took selfies posed next to our costume.” One student, Richard, carried on a lengthy conversation about how he thought it was insane that people would blame CO2 when we currently have low levels compared to other periods of earth’s history.
But not everyone was receptive to CFACT’s message. One woman who merely identified herself as a professor at the school who teaches climatology berated the duo. She expressed her belief that it was “terrifying that anyone associated with this university would hold your views.” She also declared that no plant or animal benefits from a changing climate (Not even from the Ice Age?), and even dismissed the well established fact that cold weather kills more humans than hot weather. Not surprisingly, when pressed for facts, all she could provide were recent sensationalized stories she had heard in the mainstream media.
