The Biden Administration has several conflicting stances. Maybe unintentional, but it’s still odd how one policy is in direct opposition to another. For example, allowing millions of immigrants to enter illegally increases global warming. And promoting organic farming can harm the environment.

During the 2020 campaign, candidate Joe Biden made it plain that he intended to open the border. He also announced plans to end our use of fossil fuels. Either 80,000,000 voters did not believe how disastrous such policies would be, or they voted for Biden because they had contempt for Donald Trump.

On illegal immigration, the border with Mexico became more catastrophic this week with the end of Title 42 which restricted immigrants who didn’t have a Covid vaccination. Out of 300,000,000 citizens in this country, only two claim the border is secure and under control: President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas.

About 10,000 immigrants are being processed and released each day by the Border Patrol agents and 1500 US Army soldiers. Meanwhile, thousands more are sneaking across stretches of the border where no wall exists and Border Patrol folks have been reassigned to desk duty. Since January 2021, 1,200,000 “Got-aways” have entered. These are illegal immigrants seen by Agents or cameras, but not caught. How many more have entered without being seen? Could it be 2,000,000?

Environmentalists who dominate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are determined to improve air quality (shutting down power plants) and water quality (restrictions on little streams and ditches), and stop global warming. (John Kerry, Climate Czar, says ‘climate change is a catastrophe.’)

But illegal immigrants are coming here to increase their Carbon footprint. Yes, typical immigrants add 4 times as much “global warming impact” than if they had stayed in their home country. Naturally they come here for a better life: earn more money so they can travel by car instead of bicycle; eat beef and pork instead of nuts and beans; get plentiful clean water (hot and cold) from a faucet instead of carrying it in a bucket from a community well.

Organic farming typically involves a lot of tillage. Even with crop rotations and cover crops, usually a lot of the ground is bare, making it susceptible to soil erosion from rain and wind. Organic farming is a small but growing percent of crop production. More than half of major crops are grown with intensive tillage.

No-till farming is a solution (soil is protected by living plants and crop residue) but the EPA is slow to approve new herbicides necessary to manage weeds without cultivation.  So, no-till and other farming practices that improve the quality of water and air (preventing soil erosion and dangerous dust storms) are hampered by government regulations. The absence of tillage also allows the soil to store carbon that plants remove from the air. Reducing carbon dioxide in the air is one way to reduce global warming.

Decisions by President Biden resulted in Americans paying more for electricity and restricting fossil fuels. But they have no beneficial effect on the climate because China, India and several other countries are increasing their use of coal, oil, and gas. Why don’t other countries follow Biden’s (and John Kerry’s) lead? Because, like our illegal immigrants, billions of people worldwide want to improve their lives, which means increasing their carbon footprint.

Today we celebrate Mother’s Day. Anna Jarvis began the effort to honor mothers in 1908 in Grafton, West Virginia. By the 1920’s the florists, candy makers, and the greeting card business had commercialized Mother’s Day to the extent that Anna Jarvis fought against an official Mother’s Day. She criticized sons and daughters for being too lazy to write a personal note and for giving candy, then eating most of it themselves.

Will Rogers had his own opinion on what to give mothers. He devoted most of his 15-minute radio broadcast to them on Mother’s Day, May 12, 1935:

       “The florists just practically corralled this Mother’s Day business. They have led us to believe that no matter how we have treated our mothers during the past year that a little bouquet of hyacinths or daisies will square it… There’s nothing in the world more beautiful than flowers. And every home that can possibly afford ’em should have flowers. But on the other hand, there’s an awful lot of need and want in the country, and I got a plan. My plan is not to eliminate flowers. I’m strong for flowers, but they’ve just got one drawback. You can’t eat ’em. And I imagine an awful lot of mothers today would not have rebelled if you’d sent ’em a ham. Yeah, a cut of beef or a whole lamb. Suppose the meat growers had been on the job and linked Mother’s Day up with their organization like the florists have. If they’d done that, instead of receiving a bunch of hollyhocks, she’d receive a cluster of pork chops….   Father had a day, but you can’t find anybody who remembers when it was. It’s been so confused with April the first.”