Posted on Tuesday, July 15, 2025
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by Outside Contributor
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For many parents, summer is not only a break from school, but a break from the liberal indoctrination of their children by “education” groups like the National Education Association.
Unfortunately, organizations like the American Psychological Association and The Associated Press won’t let them have even that. In June, both institutions published essays on the impact of “climate anxiety” on youths, and explained that the best way for kids to overcome this alleged mental health issue is to engage in what the APA calls “climate action.”
But of course, kids are going to be anxious about a climate apocalypse when teachers and “experts” tell them about it every day in the classroom. The APA and AP aren’t discovering a problem. They drummed up a mental health crisis for decades, and now the only “solution” is to double down.
My wife and I homeschool our children to avoid this exact kind of indoctrination. We also want our kids to enjoy the earth, getting dirty and climbing trees instead of living in fear of what they might do to it.
As an economist, I understand that I’m more fortunate than many. My wife can teach at a Montessori school and empower other parents. Therefore, for parents who believe they have no option but to put their kids back in the public school with NEA brainwashing, let me help you arm them so they can better resist when fall comes.
The Finances of “Green” Energy
First, “investment” in “green” energy “climate action” is an immense waste of taxpayer dollars. Solar and wind research suck more than 70% of energy-related government grants. The Biden administration handed out $1.6 billion in “environmental and climate justice community change grants” through the Inflation Reduction Act for “climate resilience” and “environmental justice.” Yet for all this, wind supplied less than 4% of U.S. energy in 2024, and solar provided a mere 2.7%.
And remember when ethanol subsidies were all the rage (at taxpayer expense)? Well, now even The Sierra Club says they’re bad, citing a report that ethanol could be 24% less environmentally friendly than gasoline.
For businesses, climate hysteria has led to unworkable regulations that increase the cost of operations up and down the chain. American companies spend an average of $200 billion every year just to comply with government environmental regulations. Those costs aren’t eaten by the business; they mean lower wages and fewer jobs for employees and more expensive milk and eggs for consumers. In California, it affects even the price for families to get their trash collected. Politicians, of course, blame the trash company.
Even national security is negatively impacted by “climate anxiety.” The Biden administration’s affair with alarmism left the United States vulnerable to foreign adversaries. Instead of drilling domestically for oil and relying on our own nuclear power, we’ve been forced to rely on nations like Russia and China for critical minerals, including the lithium essential for EV batteries.
This means that we’re joining Europe in using environmental policies that have helped fund Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since the start of the conflict, countries that have sanctioned Russia have still spent over $250 billion on Russian energy fuels.
Elites’ Hysteria
Climate hysteria isn’t about making sense. If it were, the APA and mental health experts would promote mental health treatment for children’s “eco-anxiety,” not create more stress by pushing them into activism.
A couple of years ago, PBS featured Leslie Davenport, a “climate psychologist” — yes, a real field of study, apparently — who said eco-anxiety is causing her practice to be overrun with clients, mostly young people. Of this eco-anxiety, she said, “It can certainly grow into something that interferes with functioning in daily life, keeps you awake at night, gets in the way of enjoying life, becomes really the predominant concern.”
Of course, when it’s inconvenient, you can always count on elites not to put their money where their mouth is. Dozens of private jets descended upon Venice, Italy, for the wedding of billionaire Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez last month, carrying the same celebrities who rail against global warming and criticize us plebeians for driving SUVs to soccer games and Costco. Meanwhile, they are emitting more carbon than I ever could, even when my wife and I buy the 12-passenger van later this year.
Critical Thinking is the Real Solution to “Climate Anxiety”
Elites know that few parents — and no students — are likely to know about their hypocrisy because the APA, NEA, and AP want you too anxious to take the red pill. Mental health is on a downward spiral, especially for young people. Anxiety, depression, and loneliness all skyrocketed following COVID in 2020. There is a true mental health crisis, and climate fatalism not only isn’t helping; it’s adding to the problem.
The solution is surprisingly simple: Be a critical thinker, which in today’s world means conservative. Last month, a long-term study from Tufts University showed that among voters who reported poor mental health, 45% identified as politically liberal, whereas only 19% identified as conservative. And a study published in late 2023 found that conservative parents raise the most emotionally healthy teenagers.
My wife and I want our kids to marvel at the beauty of the mountains and lakes that surround us. Believe it or not, we do want them to be good stewards of the environment. Americans can make that happen without all the doom and gloom and end times prophecies from an entrenched climate cult. Our highest-level psychologists and teachers (and celebrities) should take note.
Mike Feuz is an economic consultant by day and a research associate for the think-tank Free the People by night.
Reprinted with permission from American Thinker by Mike Feuz.
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
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