As I See It
Taking climate change denial to the extreme
Some people who deny the notion of climate change take that stance to the extreme. Like Wisconsin State Treasurer Matt Adamczyk, who also serves as one of three members of Wisconsin’s Board of Commissioners of Public Land. The Executive Director of this board is Tia Nelson, who has served in that post for the past 11 years. She happens to be the daughter of former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, the environmentalist who founded Earth Day, a day designed to bring attention to the need to protect our planet. She and Adamczyk have been feuding for the past three months over whether climate change is real. Apparently enough is enough. Nelson has resigned her post to take a job in the private sector. He first convinced his fellow members of the board to ban Nelson from working on any global warming issues on state time. Then he tried to get her fired. But that’s not all. He also tried to get the board to drop any references to climate change on the board’s website. He also tried to get the board to cancel its subscription to the New York Times, whose editorial policies he doesn’t like. And he even tried to get the board to change its letterhead so that Nelson’s name would no longer appear on it. This guy is clearly obsessed with muzzling anyone who dare suggest that the world’s climate may be changing. With Nelson’s departure the state has lost a well respected champion of environmental issues. But at least Adamczyk can now sleep well knowing at least her name will no longer be on the board’s letterhead.