Reality comes to Washington. Will it change anything?

Simply wishing away the truth has become the norm in Washington. But two items made the news today that show you can't wish away problems.

And they came for the left and right.

Biden has followed Trump in waiving regulations to expand the Border Wall with Mexico. There are 3 ways to look at this:

1. It is a craven attempt to improve votes from conservatives
2. It is a repudiation of liberal values that is the product of a feckless administration
3. It is the only solution to a problem that will increase going forward. This is my take on it. However I think it needs to be followed by strong action against employers and contract outsourcers.

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September was the hottest September on record. It follows the hottest June, July, and August. World temperature has already breached the 1.5 Celsius targets the world was trying to hit. World temperatures have increased by 1.7 C or 3 degrees F. That is a lot.

El Nino made this year hotter than normal, but we are looking at world temperatures that haven't been this hot since the 1400s - and we only know that because that is when temperatures started being recorded. This cannot be explained simply by an El Nino, since it occurs regularly.

Is there anything we can do about this? Not really. 

We are still burning fossil fuels at a growing rate, with no foreseeable slowdown. Even if we stopped burning today, the climate will continue to change for years - or decades - until it stabilizes. And we are nowhere near stopping the burning of fossil fuels.

As for the countries meeting their Paris Climate Change Pact targets, there are many results that are questionable. But the countries that are on track to meet Paris numbers appear to be Sweden, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, and Morocco.

Overall the 4 big polluters, China, the United States, India, and the EU are far from their goals.

As for the states, approximately 25 have defined climate goals. Only California has hit its targets. Texas does not have a climate goal but has increased its clean energy generation greatly. It is probably the leader in clean energy.