Fox News commentator mocked for outrageously blaming slave trade on wind

‘The ships were made of wood, so trees are also complicit’

A Fox News commentator took to Twitter to blast a New York Times columnist’s take on clean energy, suggesting that wind power facilitated the slave trade.

In an opinion piece for The Times entitled The Dystopia We Fear Is Keeping Us From the Utopia We Deserve, Ezra Klein writes that “the advance of wind and solar and battery technology remains a near miracle. The possibilities of advanced geothermal and hydrogen are thrilling. Smaller, modular nuclear reactors could make new miracles possible, like cars and planes that don’t need to be refueled or recharged. This is a world progressives, in particular, should want to hasten into existence”.

“Clean, abundant energy is the foundation on which a more equal, just and humane world can be built,” he added.

Fox News commentator Steve Milloy quoted the last sentence, calling Mr Klein an “airhead”.

“Two points: 1. Wind power made the trans-Atlantic slave trade possible. 2. Modern ‘clean’ energy has been a disaster.,” he tweeted on 9 January.

Following the scorning reaction to the post from other Twitter users, the climate sceptic added that “I launched Lefty trolls into orbit with my response to @ezraklein this morning. They have yet to figure out that they are really mocking poor Ezra”.

Vox writer Dylan Matthews tweeted that “‘wind power did the slave trade’ is a god tier take, an epic post, a first-year election to the posting hall of fame”.

“The ships were made of wood, so trees are also complicit,” Russell Brandom joked.

“It’s a biomass crime,” Mr Matthews responded. Joining in, Patrick Sutton posted, “Are we going to let ‘Big Water’ off the hook?”

“And the stars (celestial navigation) Don’t forget the stars!!!” Emilio Rodríguez-Díaz added.

“Guys we can’t blame the wind. It’s clearly the sail’s fault,” another Twitter user said.

“Cloth! The cotton plants! The sheep! God, everyone’s in on this aren’t they?” Lena Hojoz wrote.

“Every time I think I’m ready to leave this site, I come across a take like ‘Wind power made the trans-Atlantic slave trade possible’ that you literally couldn’t find anywhere else, and with a heavy sigh I resign myself to stay,” Jesse Singal tweeted.

“Unfortunately a major point against drinking water is that it has been used as a torture tool at Guantanamo bay,” Olga Lexell added.

Mr Milloy tweets from the handle @junkscience and frequently uses the platform to bash clean energy.

“Reminders: 1. No natural disaster can be tied to emissions. 2. No trend in natural disasters correlates w/emissions. I apologize for saying the same thing all the time but climate fake news propagandists like NYTimes @cflav make that necessary,” he wrote on Wednesday morning.

“NYTimes airhead @HirokoTabuchi: ‘The overwhelming majority of scientists around the globe agree the burning of coal, gas and oil produces GHGs that are dangerously heating the planet.’ Reality: No discernible CO2 warming since climate idiocy began,” he tweeted, yet again slamming The Times and its staff.

Also on 11 January, he wrote: “Climate nutjob @ultracricket: ‘Scientific institutions should support activism and advocacy.’ Leftists aim to destroy science for their twisted political goals.”