| Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... | While San Mateo County presents itself as a climate leader, the real test is implementation. How “Green” is San Mateo County really? Climate change is a real threat, especially for coastal communities, and San Mateo County is particularly exposed because it faces risks along both the Bay and Pacific shorelines. That should make local climate action a priority. Earth Day is a good moment to ask whether San Mateo Democrats and county leaders are acting like climate warriors, or just talking like them. “Climate Warriors” versus “Climate Deniers” The two extremes on the climate action front are the Climate Warriors and the Climate Deniers. In between, there is plenty of space for a whole zoo of climate categories. | Category | Primary Stance | Common Criticism | | Climate Warriors | “Emergency action is required now.“ | Accused of being “alarmist” or “unrealistic.” | | Conspicuous Conservationists | This is all about displaying green virtue. Without this, Tesla would have never survived. | Bill Gates owning a ‘Carbon Capture’ company while also leading emission charts would be a great example of how this doesn’t work. | | Delayers | “We should act, but now is never a good time.” | Punting goals to 2030, 2050, or 2100. Missing the window for prevention. | | Climate Coward | “It’s a problem, but it’s China’s and India’s fault.“ | Avoiding personal/national agency. Too convenient or too fearful to take action and make simple changes. | | Climate Doomer | “We’re already finished.“ | Encouraging paralysis. | | Luke-Warmer | “Earth’s climate has always been changing.” | Pretending not to understand the difference between 100 and 10,000 years of evolution. | | Denier | It’s not happening / It’s a hoax. Rejection of scientific consensus