Right-wing pastor Andrew Wommack is no stranger to making boneheaded comments about climate change. A full-fledged denialist, Wommack has claimed that human beings lack the power to influence Earth’s climatic systems, which he believes are regulated by a supreme being.
On Thursday, Wommack, a Truth & Liberty Coalition founder, upped his game in a one-two punch of ridiculousness. He declared in a conversation with co-founder Richard Harris and radio host Rick Green that climate change is the work of Satan and that abandoning fossil fuels would further empower Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russia is the world’s third-largest producer of oil and natural gas. President Joe Biden recently banned all Russian energy imports – which make up roughly three percent of foreign oil purchases – into the United States as punishment for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. That, when combined with the laundry list of sanctions that the US and its allies have levied on Russia, is expected to have a significant impact on the Russian economy.
Investments in renewables are also widely accepted by experts as an additional measure that can be taken to weaken Putin (and to prevent our extinction). And while it is possible that the West’s embargo may embolden Putin into taking more extreme actions in Ukraine, ultimately, his position on the geopolitical stage has been undeniably enfeebled.
But not in Wommack’s bubble.
“I believe that climate control is nothing but a ruse of the devil,” Wommack said. “Ya know, climate fluctuates, and I’ve seen grass on this thing and they are attributing man-made climate change and they’re using this as – I mean, I believe, in my opinion, opinions are like noses, everybody’s got one, usually has a couple of holes in it – I believe that environmentalists and climate change and their push to get rid of fossil fuels are what’s empowered Putin to go in and be able to take over Ukraine.”
‘Words are useless now’ – you couldn’t be more on the right. It is very disheartening how much actual attention is paid to the Climate Emergency on all levels.