28<\/div>SHARES<\/span><\/div>

<\/span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/span>Twitter<\/span><\/a>

As the Christmas season comes to a close and radio \u2062stations return\u2062 to their\u200b usual playlists, there’s one\u2062 song I won’t \u2062miss: the dreaded British\u200d tune “Do They \u200cKnow It’s Christmas.” Written \u200dalmost four decades ago\u200d to raise funds for \u2063Ethiopia’s famine victims, this song is best known \u2062for prompting\u200c millions of \u200cpeople worldwide to \u2062change the station. Despite its noble intentions and support for a worthy cause,\u200d it’s an incredibly\u200c annoying \u2062and sanctimonious song.<\/p>\n

The Ethiopian famine, which affected approximately 8 million people, was primarily caused by \u200cthe tribal chaos resulting \u200bfrom\u200c the country’s\u200d decade-long civil war<\/a>. While Western nations’ generosity did help, \u200bit was fossil fuels that \u2064ultimately saved \u2064the nation. In 1984, the United States alone donated nearly 800,000 \u200dmetric tons of food worth over $400 million. Our ability to produce \u2063such surplus yields\u2062 was made\u2064 possible by advancements in farm equipment,\u2064 irrigation, \u2064fertilizers, and \u200cpesticides.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Our agricultural abundance is \u200bonly possible because of fossil fuels.\u200b If you were to tell a Gen Zer, sipping \u200don a plastic water bottle<\/a> from Fiji and enjoying avocado toast, that most\u2064 of \u2064humanity \u2062has experienced hunger,\u200b they\u200d wouldn’t\u200b comprehend \u200cit. They would be the first to block traffic in\u200d the name of protesting against fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

The line, “In \u2062our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy,” needs a fact-check. It’s\u200b not just luck. It’s the result of \u200blife-saving agricultural practices made possible by fossil fuels. The song claims that \u200din Africa,\u2063 “Nothing ever grows. \u200cNo rain nor rivers flow.” But in Africa, the\u2062 land that was once \u2062the breadbasket of\u200d the Roman Empire, this statement seems \u2064like an\u200d excuse\u2063 for everything, \u200ceven back then.<\/p>\n

The New Green Slavery<\/h2>\n
There’s \u2064another reason why these British singers\u200d need to reconsider\u2063 their stance, apart from their failure to acknowledge the\u2063 role \u200dof oil, gas, and coal in \u2064improving agriculture. \u200dAfrica \u2063today is arguably worse off \u2062than it was\u200d in the 1980s. Nearly\u2064 40 million people across Africa and other parts of the world are affected by slavery, a trend driven by developed \u2062nations.\u2064 This \u2063number is so staggering that it surpasses the\u2063 total\u200d number \u200dof slaves \u200dduring the peak of the transatlantic slave trade, a\u200d dark period \u2063in our\u2063 history.<\/p>\n
Let’s \u200cthink about this in light of recent calls\u200b for\u2063 reparations, the\u2062 removal of statues \u2064of Founding Fathers, and the erasure of names like George\u2064 Washington \u2064and Thomas Jefferson\u2063 from high\u200b schools. Our\u2063 nation is outraged about \u2063the past but indifferent about the present.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Once\u2062 again, it’s the \u200cdeveloped world that is driving the slave trade, and many nations share the \u2063blame: North America, \u2064China, South \u200dKorea, Japan, and all \u2064of Europe. \u2064It’s not \u2063just cheap goods\u200b we desire, \u2062but \u200dalso the rare-earth elements that power almost all “green”\u2062 energy \u200dsources like wind turbines, solar \u2062panels, electric vehicles, and \u200dbattery storage units.<\/p>\n
Take\u2064 cobalt, for example,\u2062 an essential component of \u2062lithium-ion batteries used in\u200c electric vehicles. California \u200bGovernor Gavin\u200b Newsom is \u200dpushing for the adoption of electric vehicles by 2035, but \u200dcobalt doesn’t come \u2064from West Virginia \u200dmines or the fields of \u200cthe Permian Basin.\u2064 Amnesty International estimates that 40,000 children, some \u200bas young as 6 years\u2064 old,\u2064 work in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of \u200bthe Congo. These mines are operated \u200dby\u200d communist China, which supports Congo’s leaders. \u2063These child laborers have no labor unions to\u200b negotiate fair wages or\u200d paid time off. \u200dThere are\u2062 no safety training or \u200bOSHA regulations.\u2062 It’s simply forced labor,\u200d all in the name of “climate change,” and the virtuous\u2064 world leaders turn\u2062 a \u200cblind eye.<\/p>\n
Climate Hysteria \u200dPowers Slavery<\/h2>\n
“Well, tonight thank God it’s them\u200b instead of you,”\u200d Bono shrieked in \u200bthat song. I agree, and I’m grateful that my gas-powered\u2064 truck doesn’t rely on child slavery to function. Unfortunately, \u2062the\u200d Biden administration’s green agenda can’t say the same.<\/p>\n
Let’s consider another line: “Throw your arms around the world at\u2064 Christmas time.” Today, that lyric explicitly excludes Congolese slave children. We have deemed “climate change” \u200bmore important than their well-being. We’re no\u2063 different from our \u2063predecessors\u2062 who considered cheap\u2063 cotton worth the\u200b exploitation of slaves in the\u2064 past.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
The\u200d pursuit of green\u200b energy is driving the modern slave trade<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Of course, fossil\u200d fuels \u2063have their drawbacks\u200d and limitations. As someone \u2063who\u200c advocates\u200d for them, \u2063I’m willing to acknowledge \u2064those\u200c downsides honestly and objectively. But no matter how much the green movement despises oil, natural gas, or coal, they must accept\u200b the truth that their “green”\u200c energy\u2062 relies\u2062 on \u2063the forced labor of Congolese children.<\/p>\n
End Oil, \u200dErect \u2064Slave \u200cCamps<\/h2>\n
Recently, the United Nations’\u200c annual\u200d climate summit, COP28, concluded in Dubai with an agreement to phase out\u200d fossil fuels and embrace green energy. This is devastating news for Congolese \u2062slave children, yet no musician will compose a song\u200c for them. “Do\u2064 they know it’s Christmas time at all?” I can assure you, they do not.<\/p>\n
Perhaps if\u200b the child \u2064slave camps were located in Ukraine, our\u2064 elected\u200b officials would \u2064care.<\/p>\n
American\u200c fossil \u2064fuels have built our\u2064 nation. They drive\u2062 our economy, power our military, and ensure our national security. They feed\u200b the world. Fossil fuels are affordable, abundant,\u2062 and clean. They provide life-saving power and products to everyone. And most importantly, they are \u2063completely free of child slavery. Yet, for\u2062 some reason, we have \u2063a president and a powerful\u200c green \u200bmovement that prefer\u200b expensive, unreliable, intermittent, weather-dependent\u2064 “green” energy that enslaves millions.\u2063 This is the so-called “energy transition” we hear so \u200cmuch\u2062 about.<\/p>\n
My American \u200dfossil fuels are not tainted by\u200d slave labor. Your\u200d “green” energy\u2062 is. And\u200c no feel-good song can change that.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\u2062rnrn <\/p>\n
How does modern-day\u200b slavery relate to the\u200c pursuit\u200d of “green” energy<\/h2>\n
The Annoying Hypocrisy of “Do They Know It’s Christmas”<\/p>\n
As the Christmas season comes to a close and radio stations return to their usual playlists,\u2063 there’s one song I won’t miss: the dreaded British tune “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” Written almost four decades ago to raise funds for Ethiopia’s famine \u200bvictims, this song is best known for prompting millions of people worldwide to change the station. Despite its noble intentions and support for a worthy cause, it’s an\u2064 incredibly annoying and sanctimonious song.<\/p>\n
The Ethiopian famine, which affected \u200dapproximately 8 million people, was primarily caused by the tribal chaos resulting from the country’s decade-long civil war. While Western nations’\u200d generosity did help, it was fossil fuels that ultimately saved the \u200dnation. In 1984, the United States alone donated nearly 800,000 metric tons \u200cof food \u200dworth over $400 million. Our ability to produce such surplus yields was made \u200cpossible by advancements in farm equipment, irrigation, \u200bfertilizers, \u2062and \u2063pesticides.<\/p>\n
Our agricultural abundance is only possible because of fossil fuels. If you \u200cwere to tell a Gen Zer, \u2063sipping on a plastic water bottle from Fiji\u2062 and enjoying avocado toast, that most\u2062 of humanity has experienced hunger, they wouldn’t comprehend it. They would be the first\u200b to block traffic in the name of protesting\u2062 against fossil fuels.<\/p>\n
The line, “In our world of plenty we can spread \u2064a smile \u2062of joy,” needs a fact-check. It’s not just luck. It’s the result of life-saving agricultural practices made possible by fossil\u2062 fuels. The song claims that in Africa, “Nothing\u200c ever grows. No rain \u2064nor rivers\u200c flow.” \u2064But in Africa, the land that was once the breadbasket of the Roman Empire, this statement seems like \u2064an\u200b excuse for everything, even back then.<\/p>\n
The New Green Slavery<\/p>\n
There’s another reason why these British singers need to reconsider their stance, apart from their failure to acknowledge the role of oil, gas, and coal in improving agriculture. Africa today is arguably worse off than it was in the 1980s. Nearly 40 million people across Africa and other parts \u200dof the world are affected by slavery, a trend driven by developed nations.\u200c This number is \u2063so staggering that it \u200csurpasses the total number of\u200d slaves \u2064during the peak of the transatlantic slave trade, a dark period \u2062in our history.<\/p>\n
Let’s think about this in light of recent calls for reparations, the removal of statues \u2063of Founding Fathers, and the erasure of names like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson \u2063from \u200bhigh schools. Our nation is outraged about the past but indifferent about the present.<\/p>\n
Once again, it’s the developed world that is driving the slave trade, and many nations share the blame: North America, China, South Korea, Japan, and \u200dall of Europe. It’s not just cheap goods we\u2062 desire, but also the rare-earth elements that power almost all “green” energy sources\u200c like wind turbines, solar panels, electric\u2064 vehicles, and battery\u200c storage units.<\/p>\n
Take cobalt, for example, an essential component \u200cof \u200clithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. California Governor Gavin Newsom is pushing for the adoption of electric vehicles by 2035, but cobalt \u200bdoesn’t come from West Virginia mines\u200b or the fields of the Permian \u2063Basin. Amnesty International estimates that 40,000 children, some as young as 6 years\u200c old, work in cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the \u2062Congo. These mines are operated\u200c by communist \u2063China, which supports Congo’s leaders. These child laborers have no labor unions to negotiate fair \u2062wages \u2062or paid time off. There are no safety training or OSHA regulations. It’s simply forced \u200dlabor, all in the name of\u200c “climate change,” and the virtuous world \u2062leaders turn a blind\u200b eye.<\/p>\n
Climate Hysteria Powers Slavery<\/p>\n
“Well, tonight thank \u200cGod it’s them instead of you,” Bono shrieked in that song. I agree, and\u200d I’m grateful that my gas-powered truck doesn’t rely on\u2062 child slavery\u200b to function. Unfortunately, the Biden administration’s green agenda can’t say the same.<\/p>\n
Let’s consider another line: “Throw your\u200b arms around the \u200dworld at Christmas time.” Today, that lyric explicitly excludes Congolese slave children. We have deemed “climate change” more important than their well-being. We’re no different from our predecessors who considered cheap cotton worth\u200b the exploitation of slaves in the past.<\/p>\n
In conclusion, “Do They \u2063Know It’s Christmas” may have had good intentions, but it fails to recognize the complex realities of famine and the unintended consequences of certain environmental initiatives. It’s important to acknowledge the role\u2064 of fossil fuels in alleviating hunger and to address the ongoing issue of \u200cmodern-day slavery driven by the pursuit of “green” energy. Let’s strive for a\u200d more \u2062nuanced \u2063understanding of\u2063 the world’s challenges and work towards solutions\u200b that \u2064benefit all, rather than promoting simplistic and misleading narratives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With Christmas over, radio stations are back to their usual music, and I won’t miss the British song “Do They Know It’s Christmas.” Created by British musicians 40 years ago to aid Ethiopia’s famine victims, this tune has become a painful reminder of the season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":820,"featured_media":2141035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2141034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/820"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2141034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2141034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2141035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2141034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2141034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2141034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}