The Democratic Socialists Of America Stand Up For Cuba!

Word is that things are a little rough down in Cuba right now.  In my post of February 23, I reported that Cuba had become the first nation in the world to achieve the climate activists’ Holy Grail of “Net Zero” carbon emissions.  I had looked around for news of the big celebration of Cuba’s achievement, but I couldn’t find any mention of it.  If I had understood things correctly — and I think I had — Net Zero was supposed to deliver abundant and much cheaper electricity from the free wind and sun, lowering everybody’s energy costs, creating jobs, and saving the planet in the process.  And yet, in a February 20 piece, the New York Times had revealed that the process of achieving Net Zero had somehow brought Cuba “to its knees.”  Are we missing something here?

And then two days ago, March 16, the BBC (and many other sources) reported that the entire island of Cuba had been plunged into a blackout.  Apparently there has since been some partial restoration of power, but much or even most of the island remains in darkness, without much prospect of relief any time soon.

Of all groups that ought to be celebrating, at the top of the list would be the Democratic Socialists of America.  They have been among the most forceful advocates for the rapid if not immediate elimination of fossil fuels from the energy system.  Prominent members of the DSA include the Bronx/Queens it-girl Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York’s new Mayor Zohran Mamdani.  Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, although apparently not formally a member of DSA, has both supported and been supported by the group.

So I went to the DSA website to find information about their celebration of Cuba’s achievement.  It’s not there.  Instead, I find this:

The Trump administration has escalated the decades-long embargo on Cuba, cutting off the island’s access to oil, choking its energy grid, and accelerating a humanitarian crisis. . . .