Summary of #2 - “Master of FOIA” Chris Horner talks about his long-time fight against global warming extremism.

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00:00:00 - 01:00:00

Chris Horner, an attorney and "Master of FOIA," discusses his experiences challenging climate change policies and advocating for transparency. Horner recounts his journey from bird watcher to climate skeptic, his writing on the misuse of FOIA requests by government officials, and the importance of holding the government accountable. Additionally, Horner highlights the use of encrypted messaging apps by officials to communicate and avoid detection, the prevalence of censorship and cancel culture in the climate change debate, and the indoctrination of climate activists within university faculties. He emphasizes the need for transparency and accuracy in policymaking and the importance of citizens' right to access public records through FOIA requests.

00:00:00 In this section, Chris Horner, an attorney in Washington D.C., talks about how he stumbled upon climate policy, which has been his area of work since 1997. He expresses his skepticism about the use of the term "global weirding" introduced by Al Gore without gaining much traction. He also notes that bad weather has always happened and has been written about since the time of Thomas Jefferson. Chris stresses that it is not productive to blame our neighbors for misfortune or to get what we want. He concludes that wealthy societies have always adapted to changing climates, while societies that failed to adapt burn witches or SUVs.
00:05:00 In this section, Horner recounts his journey from being a bird watcher to a climate change skeptic. Horner tells the story of the ivory-billed woodpecker rediscovery that turned out to be based on flimsy evidence, which led him to question the experts in the field. He also mentions how meteorologists pointed out the parallels between this controversy and the global warming controversy, which made him question the evidence for himself and become a skeptic. Horner also shares his experience working in D.C. and dealing with the "we must act now" panic and climate crisis language from politicians.
00:10:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses the concept of rent seeking, which is essentially making profits by manipulating politics and regulations, rather than by producing goods or services. He uses the example of Enron, which manipulated lawmakers to increase the value of their gas pipeline business and their wind companies. He also mentions other examples, such as BP's solar panels and the concerned scientists' efforts to get the US involved in global warming treaties. Horner highlights the danger of such practices, as they can stifle competition, and he advocates for open records requests as a means of exposing such manipulations. He also reveals the false identity of EPA Administrator Richard Windsor, who was really Lisa Jackson.
00:15:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses his experience writing books about climate change, including "Red Hot Lies" and "The Liberal War on Transparency." He explains that he was inspired to write the latter after discovering that Christine Todd Whitman, the former head of the EPA, had been using a false identity, Richard Windsor, to avoid scrutiny and potential FOIA disclosures. Horner explains that this was likely done in order to frustrate congressional oversight and prevent transparency. He notes that when he and his team received the records connected to his request, they found that a bunch of other EPA officials were also using false identities to avoid scrutiny.
00:20:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses his use of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to uncover records that government officials and green groups had hidden from the public. One such incident was when a lawyer at the EPA gave a pen containing the blueprint for the clean power plan to green groups through his Yahoo account, which was a violation of FOIA laws. Horner also mentions that using FOIA to access public records has been criticized by some, such as the Washington Post, who accused Horner of being a bad person for wanting to access public records. However, he argues that FOIA is about good governance and not about testing someone's worldview. Many groups have used FOIA effectively, including Judicial Watch and Mark Levin's group, and Horner’s work has inspired copycat organizations.
00:25:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses his experience using FOIA requests to access public information from institutions, particularly universities. He notes that universities tend to use the "bad person defense" to avoid fulfilling FOIA requests despite the fact that the practice of seeking public information from universities was initiated by Greenpeace. Horner states that he tends to sue on the first day when filing FOIA requests as agencies are known to delay their responses and use FOIA laws as withholding statutes. Some agencies were not forcing timely information release even under previous administrations, and many have become notoriously derelict in handling FOIA requests. Finally, email use continues to be an issue as government officials are now using private accounts and messaging apps which automatically delete the messages, preventing them from being accessed through FOIA requests.
00:30:00 In this section, Chris Horner describes how officials are using encrypted messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp to communicate about official EPA business and avoid detection. He notes that these actions are in violation of the law and make it difficult for individuals to request public records. The use of these apps is not limited to one agency and extends to the White House as well, where officials are using Microsoft Teams chats to write down information they don't want to be seen in emails. Despite this, lawyers are pushing for transparency in communication and requesting that regular channels be used to maintain public records.
00:35:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses the importance of FOIA requests and how they can be utilized by policy groups and individuals alike. He notes that every policy group should have a FOIA person, as it is public work and accessible as public record. He advises being as specific as possible when making a request and to appeal if needed. Horner also explains that FOIA is not just for journalists but is a tool available to all citizens and stresses the importance of holding the government accountable.
00:40:00 In this section of the video, Chris Horner discusses the misuse of the White House's interest in an agency's policies, referred to as "White House equities," to delay or prevent the release of information. He mentions that this practice was also prevalent during Obama's administration and is currently being promiscuously done under Biden. Horner argues that public-private partnerships, such as those between the State Department and green groups, are not transparent, and the public should know about them. He also raises the issue of big tech censorship and ballot images from the 2020 election, which he has not checked into but wants to see.
00:45:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses the issue of censorship and cancellation of those who do not align with the views of certain groups, particularly in the arena of climate change. He speaks about the creation of noise machines, which chase after people and make it difficult for them to voice their opinions without backlash. Horner delves into the government's role in censorship, citing examples like Facebook's independent fact-checker, Climate Feedback, which is not so independent after all. He also highlights the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy's public forum, where they discussed ways to convince the public to believe in climate change. Overall, Horner suggests that there is a deliberate effort to do opposition research with the patina of a chin-stroking academic thought piece in an attempt to cancel people and censor their opinions.
00:50:00 In this section, Chris Horner, also known as the "Master of FOIA," discusses the cancel culture that skeptics of climate change have faced over the years, stating that they were some of the first to experience it. He also talks about how censorship is a big deal with those who advocate for climate change, and touches on how some of these individuals propose extreme measures such as sterilizing the population through the water supply. Horner emphasizes that many skeptics started out as casual believers but changed their minds after looking into the evidence.
00:55:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses his experience of the indoctrination of climate change activists within university faculties. He illustrates how this can affect students who hold differing opinions, such as one who was penalized for being a "Chris Horner gun." They also talk about a recent Supreme Court decision regarding administrative law that has important implications not only for climate change policy but broadly across government regulation. The decision stated that Congress could not hide elephants in mouseholes by giving administrative agencies broad power that was not clearly authorized by existing laws, as this undermines democratic accountability and violates the separation of powers.

01:00:00 - 01:20:00

In this video, Chris Horner discusses various issues related to global warming extremism, including the EPA's authority to regulate carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases and the devastating human consequences of energy poverty and scarcity that arise from proposed environmental regulations. He also talks about the need for reliable sources of energy to back up green technologies and the importance of maintaining stability in the power grid. Additionally, the video covers the topics of Joe Goffman's leadership in the EPA and the recklessness of the policy-making class in pushing green policies without considering their consequences. Horner calls for a focus on the real needs of people and argues that bad climate policy may ultimately result in criminal negligence.

01:00:00 In this section, Chris Horner talks about the EPA's authority to regulate carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. He explains how the EPA tried to use brute regulatory force to force through rules despite not having the authority to do so. The Supreme Court stated that the EPA must be pointed to the authority to regulate these substances, but it is unclear whether or not they will have the authority to regulate them moving forward. Chris also discusses how the EPA has been given $42 million to continue investigating these regulations, despite not being given the authority to enforce them. Furthermore, he discusses how we need reliable sources of energy to back up green technologies like windmills and solar panels and the importance of maintaining stability in the power grid.
01:05:00 In this section of the video, Chris Horner talks about Joe Goffman, a nominee in charge of deciding whether EPA should settle with progressive AGs suing the organization. Horner argues that Goffman should recuse himself from the case as he was consulting with these AGs previously without disclosing the relationship. Horner further argues that Goffman's leadership in the EPA may be problematic as he was involved in deciding how to get these schemes rolling. According to Horner, the Supreme Court has grown tired of people going through the back door and may not accept the global warming agenda through an ozone standard.
01:10:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses the devastating human consequences of energy poverty and scarcity that arise from the regulatory actions proposed by environmentalists. Horner talks about the consequences seen in the UK and Germany where people die of fuel poverty as a direct result of these rules. He emphasises that such policies are disastrous, harming vulnerable communities and seniors who do not have anyone to check up on them. Horner calls out the hypocrisy of policymakers who complain about fuel poverty deaths being due to lack of insulation, which prices energy out of reach, driving people to hypothermia-related deaths.
01:15:00 In this section, Chris Horner discusses the issue of energy poverty and blackouts in Europe, arguing against the narrative that the solution is to simply get off fossil fuels. He warns against depending on solar and wind power from possibly malignant actors like China and explains how Germany ignored warnings about the consequences of their moves towards renewable energy. He calls for a focus on the real needs of people, such as food, fuel, medicine, and shelter, and argues that the consequences of the push for renewable energy sources have serious social consequences, including poverty and death.
01:20:00 In this section, Jordan Peterson and Michael Yan are discussed. Yan blames green utopia for cracking down on farmers and fuel, which will increase the cost of food and fuel and lead to starvation in the next year or two. Bureaucrats are already warning that this might lead to societal unrest, making it imperative to slow down green policies. The recklessness of the policy-making class in pushing green policies that do not work all the time and ignoring physics and science mandated the need for slowing down the green agenda. The conversation concludes with people having more to fear from climate policy-induced bad weather than from climate chaos and that bad climate policy may ultimately result in criminal negligence.