Between last month’s historic climate agreement in Paris and the increased EPA regulations on carbon pollution, it’s been an exceptional year for President Obama’s climate change agenda. While the president has shown the country how to be a global leader, “I’m not a scientist” might as well be a free space on your Republican debate bingo card.
Pandering to top donors like the Kochs and big oil, GOP candidates continue to come up with new and creative ways to deny, deny, deny climate change despite that a majority of Republican voters belive its real. Even Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump who “can’t be bought” believes climate change is a Chinese hoax to weaken the American economy.
2015 was the second hottest year on record and the Department of Defense believes “climate change… poses immediate risks to U.S. national security,” but instead of taking this issue seriously, Republicans will continue to ignore science and throw snowballs at anyone who disagrees with them.
- Donald Trump said, “Unless somebody can prove something to me, I believe there’s weather.”
- During the climate talks in Paris, Ted Cruz held a congressional hearing on the “Human Impact on Earth’s Climate.” Cruz called called 97% of scientists “global warming alarmists” and compared today’s scientific consensus to scientists in the 1600s who thought the world was flat.
- Climate denier Marco Rubio was described by the New Republica as “the most dangerous GOP candidate on climate.”
- When asked about climate change, Ben Carson decided to get philosophical saying, “Any point in time, temperatures are going up or temperatures are going down… These are all very complex things. Gravity, where did it come from?”
- “Skeptic” Jeb Bush who at least acknowledges climate change is happening, is still to bound to the Kochs to admit it’s caused by humans.
- Chris Christie recently said that he doesn’t think climate change is “a crisis.” When asked why, he said it wasn’t based on science but his “feeling.”
- Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson told a voter that “we just shouldn’t spend a dime addressing [climate change.]”
- Ohio Senator Rob Portman might believe that climate change is happening, but he’s not about to do anything about it, proposing legislation that would have allowed states to opt out of greenhouse gas-reduction rules.
- Last January, Missouri Senator Roy Blunt sponsored an amendment that would nullify President Obama’s 2014 agreement with China to reduce carbon emissions.
- Nevada Senate Candidate Joe Heck voted for a bar that would prevent the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.
Published: Jan 12, 2016