Showing posts with label Lie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lie. Show all posts

Video - Senator Markey Calls out Republican Climate Deniers for their Fossil Fuel Advocacy and their Obstructionism on Climate Change



The Democratic Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey laments the collapse of the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill. Had Republicans not opposed it, it would have cut carbon pollution and created jobs. He explains that the bill collapsed because Republicans tied the vote on Shaheen-Portman to three measures designed to support the fossil fuel industry:

1. Stop EPA rights to cut emissions form power plants
2. Increase exports of natural gas which will increase costs and therefore the use of coal
3. Prevent the Senate from considering global warming pollution controls

Antarctic Sea Ice

Markey referenced the studies which point to the unstoppable melting of the Antarctic sea ice and rising seas. This means cities like Boston, south Florida and New Orleans will be underwater. The world's ice is melting and Republicans are the cause. Markey suggests that the next piece of ice that breaks off of a glacier should be reserved as an island for climate deniers.

Production Tax Credit for the Wind Industry

He goes on to say that despite strong growth in the US wind industry, last year the sector lost 30,000 jobs because Republicans opposed the production tax credit (PTC). As explained by Markey if the oil and gas industry receive 7 billions of tax breaks per year than renewable technologies should as well.

He concluded his remarks by saying, "We need to be sure we are protecting generations to come"

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Video - Former Mexican President Blames Republicans for their resistance to Combating Climate Change



According to former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón, the GOP is a major impediment in the fight against climate change. Speaking at the Harvard Business school in April, Calderón said that Republicans in Congress are like Chinese coal plants in that they are both adversaries in the fight against climate change. He called Republicans, "The most serious problem is in the United States Congress." "If you are a Republican, it's like a formal requirement to be a nonbeliever in climate change. And that's bad," Calderón said.

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The US House of Representatives Anti-Environment Voting Record in 2013

A new report from Henry Waxman (D-CA), shows that the Republican controlled House of Representatives voted for anti-environment positions 109 times. The 113th Congress is almost as bad as the 112th Congress which was called "the most anti-environment House of Representatives in history" by Waxman and Ed Markey (D-MA).

The Waxman report shows that House members:
  • Voted 51 times to to protect the interests of the oil and gas industry at the expense of the environment and human health
  • Voted 20 times to weaken the Clean Air Act
  • Voted 20 times to block or hinder federal carbon emissions regulations
  • Voted 27 times to cut clean energy and energy efficiency funding and block clean energy policies,
  • Voted 37 times to weaken the Clean Water Act and other regulatory efforts to improve water quality
The woeful voting record in the House should come as not surprise when you consider just how much money is being funneled to members of Congress from the fossil fuel industry. As reported by Think Progress, 160 representatives from the 113th Congress accepted more than $55.5 million from the fossil fuel industry, and 56 percent of the Republican caucus in 2013′s House of Representatives deny the reality of climate change.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Republicans Have Painted Themselves Into a Corner on Climate Change

The Republican position on climate change may drive party support to historic lows in the not too distant future. While most Americans (including supporters of the GOP) think that climate change is real and want the government to act, the majority of Republicans in Congress are science eschewing climate deniers. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, 58 percent of Republicans in the current Congress deny the existence of climate change or oppose action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Congressman Joe Barton of Texas and Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma are poster boys for the flat earth/Luddites in Congress. They regularly dismiss climate change as a “hoax.” However a new analysis from a Stanford University Social Psychologists makes this position politically untenable. Americans, including Republicans think global warming is real and want the government to act.

“This new report is crystal clear,” said Waxman. “It shows that the vast majority of Americans – whether from red states or blue – understand that climate change is a growing danger. Americans recognize that we have a moral obligation to protect the environment and an economic opportunity to develop the clean energy technologies of the future. Americans are way ahead of Congress in listening to the scientists.”

While Democrats are known for their acknowledgement of a science based understanding of climate change Republicans have forcefully defined themselves as "skeptics." What is most striking about the research is the fact that members of the GOP in Congress are at odds with party supporters. 

According to the Stanford study, it is people's personal experience with extreme weather like heatwaves that is driving them to acknowledge the existence of man-made global warming and support government action to combat it. The GOP's recent hearings on global warming were little more than a climate denial sham, which suggests that many Republicans in the House have yet to feel the heat.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.


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Except for Republican Members of Congress Climate Deniers are a Rare Breed in America

According to the latest research, the vast majority of Americans both Democrat and Republican embrace the veracity of anthropogenic climate change and want the government to do something about it. However, according to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, a solid majority (58 percent) of Republicans in the current Congress deny the existence of climate change or oppose action to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

John Krosniak is a social psychologist senior fellow and Stanford University Professor, his research (pdf) indicates that solid majorities in both blue and red states are worried about climate change. His analysis also says that majorities in both red and blue states want the government to act to reduce global warming causing emissions.

A vast majority of red-state Americans believe climate change is real and at least two-thirds of those want the government to cut greenhouse gases (GHGs). This holds true even in stridently red states like Texas and Oklahoma. More than 80 percent of Oklahomans and Texans accepted that climate change was occurring and 76 percent in both states want the government to act to limit GHGs

Krosnick's analysis comprises more than 10 years worth of poll results in 46 states. Climate deniers were not the majority in any of the states studied.

In every state surveyed for which sufficient data was available:

At least three-quarters of residents are aware that the climate is changing. At least two-thirds want the government to limit GHG emissions from businesses. At least 62 percent want regulations that cut carbon pollution from power plants. At least half want the U.S. to take action to fight climate change, even if other countries do not.

Click here for fact sheets

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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House GOP's Climate Denial Circus of Lies

The Republicans in the House of Representatives staged a climate denial circus on Wednesday December 11. Their so-called “factual” hearing about climate change, invoked the testimony of skeptics concluded that half of scientists think that global warming is a hoax. The actual number in more like 97 percent. They also tried to dismiss any connection between climate change and extreme weather. The Subcommittee on Environment hearing was ironically titled “A Factual Look at the Relationship Between Climate and Weather.”

Much of the lies and misrepresentation came from John Christy, a climate denying professor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. While the only scientifically factual part of the hearing came from Pennsylvania State University’s Dr. David Titley.

The Lies

As published in the Raw Story, Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) asked Professor Christy, if it was really true that “97 percent of climate scientist think that climate change is real.”

“No, not at all,” Christie replied. “The American Meteorological Society, by the way, did do a survey of its professional members and found only 52 percent said that climate change of the past 50 years was due mostly to human kind. So, 52 percent amount is quite small, I think, in terms of confidence.”

“You think the 52 percent is much more credible than the 97 percent?” Smith pressed.

“Oh, yes,” Christie insisted. “It included over a thousand respondents.”

“Fifty-two percent, I don’t think by anybody’s definition, is a consensus, by the way,” Smith noted. “So I would so say that there’s not necessarily a consensus.”

The Truth

Later in the hearing, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) asked professor Titley, if he agreed with the witnesses who claimed there was no link between climate change and weather.

“You know, I was almost going to start nodding my head up and down with the other witnesses until I heard that there was no linkage,” Titley said. “I think the scientific consensus is not that there is no linkage, the scientific consensus is ‘we don’t know.’ What we do know, we have a warmer and more moister world.”

“Can you comment on the claim that there have been no increase in extreme weather events?” Takano wondered.

“Just take the basic data, we have had for the last 36 years, since President Ford was in office, above normal temperatures,” Titley observed. “That’s away from the center and they’re getting further and further away. Now if you take each year as kind of its own thing and imagine flipping a coin 36 times and getting heads. I mean, if that’s a fair coin, I want to go to Vegas with you.”

“The odds of that are about 1 in 68 billion,” he added. “To put it another way, there’s a 400 times greater chance that you’re going to win the Powerball [lottery] — which is $400 million, by the way, this week — than getting 36 coins to flip heads in a row.”

“So, I would say that is extreme. And the ice in the Arctic, that’s extreme. We’ve seen geologic changes in less than 10 years.”

A survey published earlier this year the journal Environmental Research Letters looked and the work of 29,000 climate scientists published in nearly 12,000 academic papers and found that 97.1% agreed that human activity was causing climate change.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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List of Climate Deniers in the US Congress

A 2010 study showed that 40 percent of Americans do not know that their is a scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change. This should come as no surprise considering that the vast majority of Republican leaders eschew the science to this day. 
While the number of climate deniers are declining, the sad reality is that the lies are being kept alive by Republicans in Congress.

Here is a list of climate deniers in Congress who deny the veracity of the science of global warming. As explained in the forward to the list "Climate change is real, it's caused largely by human activities, and it poses significant risks for our health. Some members of Congress disagree with this simple, scientifically proven fact. We need to work to curb climate change, and a big step is to raise our voices to change the conversation in Washington. Call these deniers out. Hold them accountable. Ask them if they will admit climate change is a problem."
 

Deniers in the House


Rep. Robert AderholtAL-4

"I fall into the second group of people who believe, as do many very credible scientists, that the earth is currently in a natural warming cycle rather than a man-made climate change. Many scientists believe that natural cycles of warming and cooling have existed since the beginning of Earth. If we take the current models of climate prediction and apply those same models to what actually happened in the last thirty years, the models are shown to be very flawed. In addition, what knowledge we do have of a warming period in the Middle Ages cannot be explained by current models which are focused on greenhouse gas reductions."

Rep. Rodney AlexanderLA-5

Introduced H Res 974 declaring that “the impacts of climate change and proposed resolutions, tainted by the recent uncovering of climategate, are not universally accepted….”

Rep. Michele BachmannMN-6

"Carbon dioxide, Mister Speaker, is a natural byproduct of nature. Carbon dioxide is natural. It occurs in Earth. It is a part of the regular lifecycle of Earth. In fact, life on planet Earth can’t even exist without carbon dioxide. So necessary is it to human life, to animal life, to plant life, to the oceans, to the vegetation that’s on the Earth, to the, to the fowl that — that flies in the air, we need to have carbon dioxide as part of the fundamental lifecycle of Earth."

Rep. Lou Barletta

"You know there's arguments on both sides. I'm not convinced that there's scientific evidence that proves that. I believe there's some that can also argue the opposite," he said.

Rep. Joe BartonTX-6

“You’re not just off a little, you’re totally wrong,” Barton said as he challenged Gore’s conclusion that carbon dioxide emissions cause rising global temperatures.

Rep. Dan BenishekMI-1

Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that humans are contributing to climate change, Rep. Benishek has said that climate change is “all baloney” and “just some scheme.” Pointing to his background as a general surgeon, Benishek claims he’s “a scientist” who has the expertise to know that climate change is “unproven science stuff.”

Rep. Marsha BlackburnTN-7

"Also absent from the discussion in Copenhagen is the climate-gate scandal. Recently leaked e-mails reveal climate scientists have a long track record of manipulating data to hide scientific evidence that contradicts the global warming establishment. And why? To bully citizens and lawmakers into supporting job-killing energy tax schemes. This scandal raises serious questions about the Democrat’s climate control plans, questions that deserve a transparent investigation, not a rush to judgement by the bureaucrats in Copenhagen."

Rep. John BoehnerOH-8

"George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide."

Rep. Kevin BradyTX-8

"Climategate reveals a serious lack of integrity in the underlying data and models, such that it is doubtful that any process can be trusted until the data and models are validated and their integrity assured."

Rep. Jim BridenstineOK-1

He downplayed the need for more climate research by noting that atmospheric temperatures have not risen over the last decade, and said temperatures coincide more with solar activity than with man-made factors. “Global temperatures stopped rising 10 years ago,” he said. “Global temperature changes, when they exist, correlate with sun output and ocean cycles.” He noted the Medieval Warm Period that happened “long before cars, power plants and the industrial revolution.” And he noted the Little Ice Age, which also happened irrespective of human activity.” Even climate change alarmists admit that the number of hurricanes hitting the U.S. and the number of tornado touchdowns have been on a slow decline for over 100 years,” he said.

Rep. Mo BrooksAL-5

"I'm also old enough to remember when the same left-wing part of our society was creating a global cooling scare in order to generate funds for their pet projects. So 30-some years ago the big scare was global cooling, and once they drained that [topic], they shifted to global warming. So I'm approaching the issue with a healthy degree of skepticism. If the evidence is there to prove it, then so be it." (also numerous quotes from a March 31, 2011 committee hearing)

Rep. Paul BrounGA-10

In June 2009, Broun received a standing ovation when he said that global warming is a "hoax". He said "Scientists all over this world say that the idea of human induced global climate change is one of the greatest hoaxes perpetrated out of the scientific community. It is a hoax. There is no scientific consensus."[52]

Rep. Larry BucshonIN-8

"The data does not support the premise that carbon dioxide emissions are playing a significant role in the world temperature variations. The temperature of the Earth has been changing over centuries with warmer and colder periods throughout history."

Rep. Michael BurgessTX-26

“My opinion, for what it is worth, is that the science behind global temperature changes is not settled.”

Rep. Dave CampMI-4

"What is the science of climate change? What can it definitively tell us? Can it say who is responsible for it? Can it tell us what impact we can have on it, and if we can, what are the results—both positive and negative? From what I have read, there remains a great deal of uncertainty with regard to the scientific evidence about climate change."

Rep. Eric CantorVA-7

“If there’s been any constant in human history, it’s been climate change. The real question is the severity of that and the involvement of human causes in all of that.”

Rep. Shelley CapitoWV-2

Despite a widespread scientific consensus, the West Virginia Republican said she’s “not convinced” that human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide are leading to global warming that will alter the planet’s climate in ways that could be dangerous.

Rep. John CarterTX-31

“Global warming is simply a chicken-little scheme to use mass media and government propaganda to convince the world that destruction of individual liberties and national sovereignty is necessary to save mankind, and that the unwashed masses would destroy themselves without the enlightened global dictatorship of these frauds.”

Rep. Bill CassidyLA-6

"It could be secular. It could just be a shift on the axis."

Rep. Steve ChabotOH-1

Climategate is “just another example of many in the press, and many in the academic/scientific community having bought into the whole global warming/climate change ‘religion,’ no matter what the facts are.”

Rep. Jason ChaffetzUT-3

Chaffetz lambasts global warming (calling it “a farce”).

Rep. Doug CollinsGA-9

When asked if he believes human activity is contributing to climate change, Representative Collins answered “no.”

Rep. Michael ConawayTX-11

Science is never settled…they changed the phraseology because the climate isn’t warming.

Rep. Kevin CramerND

When asked if he believed that human activity is contributing to climate change, Mr. Cramer answered “no” and went on to say: “The manipulation of free markets by economic policy disguised as environmental policy based on inconclusive science should not be tolerated. Free people producing energy other free people want and are willing to pay for should be the core of U.S. energy policy.”

Rep. Rick Crawford AR-1

He also fielded a question regarding climate change and President Obama’s environmental agenda. “There’s not sound science to support some of the initiatives that the President, I think, is committed to. We know that some of the research was faulty and it drove a lot of the agenda for a long time. and then it turned out there were some questions about the validity of that research.” “I don’t see a lot of the green initiatives that are being talked about being supported by scientific data, but more supported by political agendas.”

Rep. John Culberson TX-7

"This week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided that the air we exhale, carbon dioxide, is toxic and poses a danger to our well-being…. While this blatant power grab is disappointing, the truly alarming part is that the scientific evidence the EPA used to support its conclusion comes directly from United Nations (U.N.) climate data – the same data that were recently found to have been deliberately manipulated to support the global warming movement. When EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the proposed endangerment finding in April, she readily admitted that the agency “relied heavily upon the major findings and conclusions from recent assessments of the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.” Emails recently made public offer definitive proof of a collective effort among some U.N. scientists to misrepresent climate data in order to foist their political agenda onto the public."

Rep. Steve Daines MT

In a radio interview with Montana Public Radio, Daines admits the climate is changing but questions the impacts by man, that there is “significant debate here,” the “jury is still out,” and brings up the debate of sun/solar cycles versus greenhouse gases.

Rep. Rodney Davis IL-13

During an interview with Illinois Public Media radio, a constituent asked Representative Rodney Davis what he planned to do to combat climate change, and he responded that “global warming has stopped 16 years ago.” He then went on the say that climate change is real but the debate is over whether or not it is manmade or natural.

Rep. Jeff Denham CA-10

"Some wouldn’t view them as skeptics. Some would view them as the right side of the issue. We don’t have complete factual information yet. From what I have seen the Earth has heated and cooled on its own for centuries. I don’t know that there’s anything that is a direct cause of that right now, but we can do a better job of cleaning up our planet."

Rep. John Duncan TN-2

Supports claim that global warming is “the greatest scam in history.”

Rep. Blake Farenthold TX-27

"Global warming is scare tactic used by groups with a political agenda. [sic]"

Rep. John Fleming LA-4

“Quietly released scientific report without fanfare. Global warming, to the the extent that it ever existed, halted 16 years ago. So, what is Washington controlled by the radical environmental agenda?”

Rep. Bill Flores TX-17

It is time we stopped putting petty politics based on dubious “agenda-driven, scientific” research ahead of creating more American energy.

Rep. Randy Forbes VA-4

Elected officials need to depend on experts in the field to make determinations on the degree to which our planet is warming, and there is evidence among scientists and researchers pointing in both directions.

Rep. Virginia Foxx NC-5

North Carolina Republican Virginia Foxx referenced books by climate-change skeptics and lamented that some environmentalists “think that we, human beings, have more impact on the climate and the world than God does.”

Rep. Trent Franks AZ-8

I have yet to see clear and convincing evidence that it exists beyond historical fluctuations.

Rep. Cory Gardner CO-4

Representative Cory Gardner, a freshman Republican from Colorado and a skeptic of human-caused global warming... "“I think the climate is changing, but I don’t believe humans are causing that change to the extent that’s been in the news."

Rep. Scott Garrett NJ-5

"The real question that still exists in a lot of people’s minds, experts and non-experts alike, on the area of global warming and what role the government should have in this realm. … I’ve heard a number of experts on both sides of the equation on this issue and to me the evidence, the question is still out there."

Rep. Bob Gibbs OH-7

"It is clear that science has not been able to document what is happening and if human activity is causing a problem or not . Many scientists are on both sides of this issue and the proponents of climate change have not substantiated their findings based on sound science."

Rep. Phil Gingrey GA-11

Filed petition with EPA claiming: "Climategate reveals a serious lack of integrity in the underlying data and models, such that it is doubtful that any process can be trusted until the data and models are validated and their integrity assured"

Rep. Louie Gohmert TX-1

"We’re finding out the world is staying the same or actually cooling."

Rep. Paul Gosar AZ-4

Further, “global warming” now known as “climate change” is likely not in our control in any event. Historical records clearly demonstrate vast temperature swings long before Man arrived, from temperate zones in Alaska to ice ages in New York.

Rep. Trey Gowdy SC-4

"Global warming has not been proven to the satisfaction of the constituents I seek to serve."

Rep. Tim Griffin AR-2

“I am not convinced that the problem of global warming is what the scientists say it is. Particularly in light of the recent research, that demonstrates that there are a lot of shenanigans going on with the data.”

Rep. Morgan Griffith VA-9

"[Climate Change] led to the Vikings dominating Europe for several hundred years."

Rep. Michael Grimm NY-11

"I have been one of the guys who have been skeptical of global warming from the beginning. The jury is obviously still out on it. We see nothing but conflicting reports from across the globe. I’m not sure, I’m not a scientist."

Rep. Ralph Hall TX-4

"I'm really more fearful of freezing. And I don't have any science to prove that. But we have a lot of science that tells us they're not basing it on real scientific facts"

Rep. Gregg Harper MS-3

"I don't believe that the science is at all settled on man-made global warming."

Rep. Andy Harris MD-1

Harris said there is a recent warming trend, but “I don’t understand or know, or I don’t believe anybody really knows, how to place that in historic perspective.” He also said human contribution to climate change “is also a complex question,” and that even if humans are contributing, “can you change that contribution given that we burn a lot of carbon-based products to create the energy we need to run the economy of the world?”

Rep. Vicky Hartzler MO-4

"Enjoying another beautiful global warming day in Missouri! Rep. Skelton and the UN Summit need to quit their dist. of wealth for a hoax."

Rep. Doc Hastings WA-4

Hastings told the Columbia Basin Herald he understands global warming exists. He said the cause of global warming is the concern. Hastings said he is not convinced people and their actions are the cause of global warming and questions if it is a natural process because the earth has warmed and cooled many times throughout history.

Rep. Richard Hudson NC-8

When asked if human activity is contributing to climate change, he responded no.

Rep. Bill Huizenga MI-2

"Today’s global warming doomsayers simply lack the scientific evidence to support their claims. A host of leaders in the scientific community have recognized that the argument for drastic anthropogenic global warming is no longer based on science, but is being driven by irrational fanaticism."

Rep. Randy Hultgren IL-14

"The greatest impact on our climate clearly is the sun, and we have very little impact on the sun and how much energy and temperature the sun is sending to the earth. We have seen clearly over thousands of years that at different times more energy has come through and different times less energy has come through, and that variation has impacted climate change. Over the thousands of years that’s been recorded we’ve had both colder times and warmer times. It happens to be that we’ve recently come out of a warmer time and now actually we’re headed in to a little bit of a colder time, the impact of the sun is much different than impact that we could have had."

Rep. Duncan Hunter CA-50

Hunter ridiculed the notion that climate change needs to be addressed by Congress. “Nobody really knows the cause,” he said. “The earth cools, the earth warms…It could be caused by carbon dioxide or methane. Maybe we should kill the cows to stop the methane, or stop breathing to stop the CO2…Thousands of people die every year of cold, so if we had global warming it would save lives…We ought to look out for people. The earth can take care of itself.”

Rep. Robert Hurt VA-5

Hurt said Climategate is “scientists who have given us something that is not true. It is faulty information and it has real consequences in the 5th District, in the loss of jobs and in power bills from Appalachian Power Co.”

Rep. Darrell Issa CA-49

One of the difficulties in examining the issue of the climate change and greenhouse gases is that there is a wide range of scientific opinion on this issue and the science community does not agree to the extent of the problem or the critical threshold of when this problem is truly catastrophic.

Rep. Lynn Jenkins KS-2

I cosponsored a res. overturning an EPA rule that says man-made greenhouse gas emissions are a danger to public health.

Rep. Bill Johnson OH-6

In another, more accurate, sense, Johnson is a man with a degree in computer science who is awash in oil and gas money and denies climate science, asserting in 2011, “I am not an alarmist that believes that greenhouse gas emissions coming from the coal industry are causing major problems.”

Rep. Walter Jones NC-3

“However, there is substantial disagreement regarding the extent of this warming, whether it’s caused by human activity or simply nature taking its course, and what solutions, if any, should be implemented. The bottom line is that the scientific community does not speak with one voice on this issue.”

Rep. Steve King IA-4

"There are a couple of German engineers that took that theory apart and proved it wrong in a lab. I’ve read through that, but I’d have to go back to school for a half a year or a year to tell you I followed every bit of their rationale. But the presumption of the Greenhouse Effect is at least, from what I saw, was pretty convincingly rebutted."

Rep. Jack Kingston GA-1

"We have a moral duty to be good stewards of the environment but growing the government’s coffers and killing jobs based on questionable science is a bridge too far."

Rep. Doug LaMalfa CA-1

It’s “bad science.” It’s “Al Gore.” It’s a “naturally occurring cycle.” You should “look at the numbers.”

Rep. Doug Lamborn CO-5

Lamborn said there are “a lot of contentious facts and claims about global warming and whether it is man made.” However, he said there is “not much unanimity” about it. At that statement many audience members commented that 98 percent was “pretty unanimous.” Lamborn said he spoke to a scientist who believes that global warming is man-made and “should materialize” 50-100 years from now. He said there are issues that need dealing with now. Eckler asked again if he would listen to the evidence claiming global warming is here and now. After more back-and-forth on the issue, Lamborn said, “I think we’ve beaten this horse to a pulp. I’m listening to all sides.”

Rep. James Lankford OK-5

"This whole global warming myth will be exposed as what it really is — a way of control more than anything else. And that generation will be ticked."

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer MO-3 Luetkemeyer’s legislation would prohibit U.S. contributions to the IPCC, which is nothing more than a group of U.N. bureaucrats that supports man-made claims on global warming that many scientists disagree with…. Meanwhile, our very own Environmental Protection Agency recently reported that we are undergoing a period of worldwide cooling.

Rep. Cynthia Lummis WY

“We’re just beginning to explore what mankind’s role is in climate change, so I’d argue that the jury’s still out.”

Rep. Thomas Massie KY-4 Rep. Thomas Massie challenged President Obama to roll out the proof that humans have played a hand in climate change. Mr. Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said he was “disappointed” that the president in his second inaugural address blamed droughts on “human activity” and accused some of “denying the evidence of scientists.” “As somebody with a science-type background, I took offense at that,” Mr. Massie said during a panel meeting billed as “Conversations With Conservatives.” “I would challenge him to show us the linkage — the undeniable linkage — between droughts and the change of weather, and some kind of human activity.”

Rep. Tom McClintock CA-4

"We're all told of course the debate is over and that all the scientists agree... and as all of you know, that is succinctly not the case."

Rep. David McKinley WV-1

Many scientists have disavowed past climate change research, McKinley said, and he’s waiting for valid science to convince him there’s a problem and whether man is to blame.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers WA-5

"We believe Al Gore deserves an ‘F’ in science and an ‘A’ in creative writing."

Rep. Candice Miller MI-10

"There is little doubt that the world’s climate is changing, because the climate has always changed. Just ask the dinosaurs or remember the ice age and how huge glaciers melting and moving formed our Great Lakes. The question is whether the current climate change is human-induced."

Rep. Mick Mulvaney SC-5

"Energy independence, green technology, and innovation is something we should pursue as a nation. However, we shouldn’t seek to accomplish that by taxing people based on questionable science. Neither should we ignore domestic energy resources – coal, natural gas, oil – because of baseless claims regarding global warming."

Rep. Randy Neugebauer TX-19

"What we have here is a case of formulating scientific findings that back up policy, instead of creating policy that is backed up by legitimate science. Proponents of man-made global warming in Congress will use every opportunity they have to invite witnesses to testify before Congress who only share their point of view. We now have clear evidence of what we knew all along, that there are perhaps thousands of scientists who don’t share these views, and sadly have been the subject of concerted efforts to discourage and suppress their findings from publication."

Rep. Kristi Noem SD

Voted for an SD House Resolution stating that: "That there are a variety of climatological, meteorological, astrological, thermological, cosmological, and ecological dynamics that can effect world weather phenomena and that the significance and interrelativity of these factors is largely speculative"

Rep. Devin Nunes CA-22

"However, scientists admit that they cannot be sure whether the Earth’s temperature is rising due to cyclical warming and cooling processes, or whether and how much humans are influencing it."

Rep. Pete Olson TX-22

"The emails that emerge from the University of East Anglia call into question the accuracy of the IPCC data."

Rep. Erik Paulsen MN-3

When asked if human beings are contributing to global warming, Paulsen said he wasn’t smart enough to know whether that’s true or not.

Rep. Stevan Pearce NM-2

“I think we ought to take a look at whatever the group is that measures all this, the IPCC, they don’t even believe the crap... why should the rest of be penalized in our standard of living for something that can’t be validated?”

Rep. Ted Poe TX-2

The consensus has been for some time that global warming, climate change, continues because man is the perpetrator. Now we are beginning to learn that may not be true, that there is not a consensus that there is global warming or climate change. We now have heard about Climategate, where the expert scientists hid emails in England that disagreed with the so-called consensus that there is global warming and global climate change. We have heard now new evidence that even NASA is involved in not revealing evidence that contradicts climate change.

Rep. Tom Price GA-6

"This decision goes against all common sense, especially considering the many recent revelations of errors and obfuscation in the allegedly ‘settled science’ of global warming."

Rep. Scott Rigell VA-2

Does not believe that climate change is caused by human actions.

Rep. Phil Roe TN-1

"Many believe greenhouse gas emissions are contributing to the gradual warming of our planet and changing of our climate. While there are many questions surrounding the science of the issue, it seems to me like we could develop a solution that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions without inflicting catastrophic damage on our economy."

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher CA-48

"Too often, when congress is asked to pass environmental legislation, the legislation is based on emotional junk science rather than data based on reproducable, rigorous, tested, peer-reviewed results. In no area has this been more obvious than climate change. Because the Kyoto Treaty and much of the suggested environmental legislation would decimate jobs in southern California, constituents may be interested to learn of the growing scientific consensus that global warming is not manmade, if it is in fact even occuring."

Rep. Todd Rokita IN-4

"The link between manmade carbon emissions and measureable harm to the environment is a topic currently under debate. While there may exist a link, the current debate continues."

Rep. Peter Roskam IL-6

Roskam drew the ire of the crowd by calling global warming junk science.

Rep. Keith Rothfus PA-12

When asked, "Do you believe that global warming which is now referred to as climate change is a fact, and if so do you believe that it is man-made?" Rothfus responded, "I do not believe it’s man-made and I am not convinced that it is a fact. I think the science is still out. I think for the last 15 years we haven’t had any warming."

Rep. Paul Ryan WI-1

Unilateral economic restraint in the name of fighting global warming has been a tough sell in our communities, where much of the state is buried under snow.

Rep. Steve Scalise LA-1

Asked whether he worries that he could be wrong, Scalise cited an “increasing number of scientists who are raising major questions about the global warming theories.”

Rep. James Sensenbrenner WI-5

"I think that the science is inconclusive on this...I personally believe that the solar flares are more responsible for climatic cycles than anything that human beings do and our lunar, our rovers on Mars have indicated that there has been a slight warming in the atmosphere of Mars and that certainly was not caused by the internal combustion engine."

Rep. John Shimkus IL-15

Filed petition with EPA claiming: "Climategate reveals a serious lack of integrity in the underlying data and models, such that it is doubtful that any process can be trusted until the data and models are validated and their integrity assured"

Rep. Lamar Smith TX-21

“I believe climate change is due to a combination of factors, including natural cycles, sun spots and human activity. But scientists still don't know for certain how much each of these factors contributes to the overall climate change that the Earth is experiencing,” he said in a statement (San Antonio Express-News, 12/6/12)

Rep. Chris Stewart UT-2

"The science regarding climate change is anything but settled. "

Rep. Steve Stivers OH-15

Disagrees with the statement: “Man-made global warming is a scientific fact.”

Rep. Steve Stockman TX-36

“The new fad thing that’s going through America and around the world. It’s called global warming.”

Rep. Lee Terry NE-2

"There's an argument here on the true impact of man... Is it really 97 to 3? I don't think so."

Rep. Glenn Thompson PA-5

"In the debate and most of the debate of the majority party here, it’s not so much based on real science as political science or even, to some degree, science fiction. And so, to look at why this–and I looked at every piece of legislation in terms of cost benefits. And when we look at the benefits of this, I think human activity, it’s acknowledged, does contribute towards carbon dioxide emissions. But it’s less than 4 percent. To put that into perspective, forest fires, wildfires contribute 10 percent of CO2 emissions. And so not even with the debate of, you know, are we warming the Earth or not warming the Earth, there’s a lot of smart folks out there that are publishing research or earning their dissertations based on debating that science. But what the experts agree upon, the researchers agree is, human activity is less than 4 percent contributes towards CO2 emissions."

Rep. Mac Thornberry TX-13

"Global Warming: Politics or Science? Some scientists believe that the temperature of the Earth is increasing rapidly. Others, such as those at the United Kingdom’s Hadley Center for Climate Studies, say that the Earth’s temperature is not much different now than it was 50 or 100 years ago. The case that man is causing any change in temperature is even more hotly contested."

Rep. Pat Tiberi OH-12

GOP Rep. Pat Tiberi of Genoa Township doesn’t think there is a consensus among scientists about whether global warming is proven.

Rep. Scott Tipton CO-3

Scott Tipton (R-CO) conceded that climate change exists, but argued that it’s caused by natural climate cycles rather than humans. “Here in the state of Colorado as our tree rings demonstrate, we’ve had droughts long before there were very many people here,” the Tea Party freshman argued. Acknowledging that humans can affect the climate is futile because it would “divide America,” said Tipton.

Rep. Fred Upton MI-6

"Are any of those incurred costs actually going to impact the rising temperature under debate? The answer was no. No matter what we did between now and 2050 it, it, there was no real science to verify that it would reduce the temperature rise that some predicted. And that’s why we do need hearings [on the Climategate emails]."

Rep. Ann Wagner MO-2

"Our policy response to this dilemma should not be based on inconsistent and unsound science..."

Rep. Tim Walberg MI-7

"I read scientists, editors…an equal number at the very least that say just the opposite that this is something that’s gone on for eons, that we go through these cycles."

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland GA-3

Westmoreland, who isn’t convinced that global warming is occurring, denied that he was trying to divert attention from Gore’s testimony. Also Filed petition with EPA claiming: "Climategate reveals a serious lack of integrity in the underlying data and models, such that it is doubtful that any process can be trusted until the data and models are validated and their integrity assured"

Rep. Ed Whitfield KY-1

"Misrepresenting scientific research to support one’s own personal beliefs, particularly on an international stage, is dangerous, disingenuous and simply unacceptable. I call on Mr. Gore to come clean about the real science surrounding climate change and let the American people come to their own conclusions on global warming."

Rep. Joe Wilson SC-2

When asked if he believes that human activity is contributing to climate change, Rep. Wilson answered “no.”

Rep. Robert Wittman VA-1

"We must recognize that these climactic cycles of heating and cooling have been going on well before man appeared on earth."

Rep. Don Young AK

"I think this is the biggest scam since the Teapot Dome."

Rep. Todd Young IN-9

“The science is not settled.”


Deniers in the Senate 


Sen. Kelly Ayotte NH

Asked if she believed in climate change, she said, “there is scientific evidence that demonstrates there is some impact from human activities. However I don’t think the evidence is conclusive.”

Sen. John Barrasso WY

When Barrasso was in college and medical school, he said, the "best science at the time said that the Ice Age is coming.... So all I'm saying is, how much of the wealth of this nation are we going to put at risk for something that may be poorly spent money?"

Sen. Roy Blunt MO

“There isn’t any real science to say we are altering the climate path of the earth.”

Sen. John Boozman AR

"Well I think that we’ve got perhaps climate change going on. The question is what’s causing it. Is man causing it, or, you know, is this a cycle that happens throughout the years, throughout the ages. And you can look back some of the previous times when there was no industrialization, you had these different ages, ice ages, and things warming and things. That’s the question."

Sen. Thomas Coburn OK

“I’ve read the basic scientific studies, and a lot of it doesn’t add up for me,”

Sen. John Cornyn TX

“Taxpayer funded research by NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) concerning the warmest years on record has been the subject of dispute and after challenges, has been changed and re-released. What is less known is why the changes were made and what inherent flaws existed in the original data, if any. It is important to understand the reasons behind these alterations and further to avoid suspicion that data was massaged to fit the prescribed theory that global warming is attributable to man-made greenhouse gas emissions.”

Sen. Michael Crapo ID

"While there is no dispute over the fact that the Earth’s climate has changed many times over the planet’s history, the underlying cause of these climactic shifts is ultimately not well-understood and is a matter of vigorous debate."

Sen. Ted Cruz TX

"There remains considerable uncertainty about the effect of the many factors that influence climate: the sun, the oceans, clouds, the behavior of water vapor (the main greenhouse gas), volcanic activity, and human activity. Nonetheless, climate-change proponents based their models on assumptions about those factors, and now we know that many of those assumptions were wrong."

Sen. Deb Fischer NE

Asked about man-made climate change, Fischer immediately said, 'I certainly don't support cap-and-trade.' She said she believes in weather change, but she said she does not believe man has a huge impact on the climate.

Sen. Chuck Grassley IA

"But the scientific aspect that I still reserving judgment on is the extent to which it’s manmade or natural. And it’s reasonable, considering that there’s at least a natural factor in it, because historically, and you can go to the core drillings in the glaciers to get proof of this, that we’ve had decades and decades, and maybe even centuries of periods of time when there’s been a tremendous rise in temperature, and then a tremendous fall in temperature. And all you’ve got to do is look at the little ice age of the mid-last millennia as an example. And so we’ve got to single out what’s natural and what’s manmade before you can make policy."

Sen. Orrin Hatch UT

"There is also some disagreement among scientists as to whether global warming – regardless of its cause – would result in a net benefit or detriment to life on earth. Scientific studies demonstrate overwhelmingly that humans tend to fare better during warming spells than periods of cooling."

Sen. John Hoeven ND

"Well, the science shows that there’s warming. There’s different opinions of exactly what’s causing it."

Sen. Jim Inhofe OK

"I have offered compelling evidence that catastrophic global warming is a hoax. That conclusion is supported by the painstaking work of the nation's top climate scientists."[36]

Sen. John Isakson GA

"Science has shown us that there has been a gradual warming of the earth over the last 50 years. What is not as clear is whether the cause for this warming is man-made emissions, a cyclical warming of the planet, or a combination of both. Given the uncertainty in the science behind climate change, I believe that we should take proactive steps, both personally and as a nation, to reduce our emissions footprint."

Sen. Mike Johanns NE

There is a significant debate as to what role man plays in warming of the climate.

Sen. Ron Johnson WI

"“I absolutely do not believe in the science of man-caused climate change,” Johnson said. “It’s not proven by any stretch of the imagination. It's far more likely that it's sunspot activity or just something in the geologic eons of time.”

Sen. Rand Paul KY

"[Scientists] are making up their facts to fit their conclusions. They’ve already caught them doing this."

Sen. Rob Portman OH

"When you analyze all the data, there is a warming trend according to science. But the jury is out on the degree of how much is manmade."

Sen. Pat Roberts KS

"There’s no question there’s some global warming, but I’m not sure what it means. A lot of this is condescending elitism."

Sen. Marco Rubio FL

The government can’t change the weather. I said that in the speech. We can pass a bunch of laws that will destroy our economy, but it isn’t going to change the weather. --- "I don't think there's the scientific evidence to justify it," he told the Tampa Tribune

Sen. Richard Shelby AL

"Global warming continues to be an issue of significant debate in Congress and throughout the scientific community. In addition, important scientific research is ongoing as there are still many questions that must be answered before we take steps to address this issue. For example, is the climate change phenomenon cyclical or is it a function of manmade pollutants, or both? I believe the science must be firmly grounded before we take any actions that could seriously cripple many sectors of our economy."

Sen. Pat Toomey PA

"My view is: I think the data is pretty clear. There has been an increase in the surface temperature of the planet over the course of the last 100 years or so. I think it’s clear that that has happened. The extent to which that has been caused by human activity I think is not as clear. I think that is still very much disputed and has been debated."

Sen. David Vitter LA

"I do not think the science clearly supports global warming theory."

Sen. Roger Wicker MS

"Science shows that there is an increase of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. But it has not been compellingly proven that mankind is responsible for the rise in atmospheric CO2, nor is it clear what impact CO2 has on Earth’s temperatures."



© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Climate Skeptics Try to Use Leaked IPCC Draft to Vindicate their Irrational Stance

A leaked draft of a major report is erroneously being used by climate skeptics to suggest that cosmic rays are responsible for global warming rather than human activity. To make their case they cherry-pick one sentence of a 14-chapter draft report to try to undermine the scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change. One of the report's lead authors described this attempt as "completely ridiculous."

Professor Steve Sherwood, a director of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, told ABC Radio in Australia: "You could go and read those paragraphs yourself and the summary of it and see that we conclude exactly the opposite, that this cosmic ray effect that the paragraph is discussing appears to be negligible … It's a pretty severe case of [cherry-picking], because even the sentence doesn't say what [climate sceptics] say and certainly if you look at the context, we're really saying the opposite."

As reported in the Guardian, the draft clearly states: "There is consistent evidence from observations of a net energy uptake of the earth system due to an imbalance in the energy budget. It is virtually certain that this is caused by human activities, primarily by the increase in CO2 concentrations. There is very high confidence that natural forcing contributes only a small fraction to this imbalance."

Prof Bill McGuire, Professor of Geophysical & Climate Hazards at University College London and contributing author on the recent IPCC AR5 report on climate change and extreme events, said that sceptics' reading of the draft is quite simply wrong.

The IPCC AR5 report reiterates the widely accepted fact that contemporary climate change is not a natural process, but the consequence of human activities.

The use of the leaked report by climate skeptics clearly illustrates their irrational and unscientific agenda. Rather than accept the science, they remain focused on vindicating their wrong-mindedness in the face of an overwhelming and growing body of evidence.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Rick Santorum's Anti-Environmental Theology

Republican presidential front runner Rick Santorum said President Barack Obama subscribes to a theological worldview that "elevates the Earth above man." This is how the former Senator from Pennsylvania describes Obama's belief in a fact based understanding of climate change.

On Saturday, February 17th, Santorum told an Ohio audience that he believed Obama adhered to "some phony theology; oh, not a theology based on the Bible, a different theology."

On Sunday February 18th, Santorum explained his remarks on the CBS News program "Face the Nation." Santorum said he was not questioning the fact that Obama is a Christian, he was referring to Obama's environmental world view.

"I just said that when you have a world view that elevates the Earth above man and says that, you know, we can't take those resources because we're going to harm the Earth by things that frankly are just not scientifically proven -- for example, that politicization of the whole global-warming debate -- I mean, this is just all an attempt to centralize power and to give more power to the government," he said.

"I'm talking about, you know, the belief that man should be in charge of the Earth and should have dominion over it and should be good stewards of it."

Santorum is quite obviously confused about the science of climate change, but he even gets his theology wrong. Gen. 1:28 says "God gave Adam and Eve dominion in the earth." According to Christian theologians, this means that the human race is supposed to nurture the earth, not dominate and exploit it.

"God gave men and women a privileged place among all creatures and commanded them to exercise stewardship over the earth." (Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8:6-8). Stewardship implies caretaking, not abusing the planet for selfish motives.

Santorum has vigorously argued for anything but stewardship of the earth. He advocates more global warming causing oil and gas exploitation and he has dismissed the scientific consensus on anthropogenic climate change. Santorum makes it quite clear he thinks global warming is "junk science" and a "beautifully concocted scheme" created by the left.

Like the other GOP presidential hopefuls Santorum is an embarrassment to all those who believe in a scientific understanding of climate change.

Santorum is not above stoking the unfounded fears of the least savory elements of the GOP base. If any of the Republican candidates succeeds in winning the Whitehouse later this year, we may all have something to fear.

© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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