Showing posts with label manipulation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manipulation. Show all posts

Trump's State of Disunion (2020 Edition)

Trump's 2020 State of the Union address reaffirmed his ongoing penchant for dishonesty, his utter lack of civility and his conspicuous avoidance of climate change. Trump began by refusing to shake the hand of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and he went on to deliver the most divisive State of the Union speech in the modern memory.

Trump bragged about the fact that the US is the world's largest producer of fossil fuels. He did not acknowledge the mounting evidence that suggest fossil fuels are on their way out, and not once did he mention renewable energy. As is often the case with this president, he tried to take credit that is not his to take. "The United States has become the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far. With the tremendous progress we have made over the past three years." The truth is this happened in 2012, four years before he was president. Trump boasted about energy jobs but what he failed to say is that there are now more renewable energy jobs than there are jobs in the fossil fuel industry.

While he ignored climate change, he did say he wants the US to plant more trees. "To protect the environment, days ago, I announced that the United States will join the One Trillion Trees Initiative, an ambitious effort to bring together government and the private sector to plant new trees in America and around the world," Trump said, referencing a commitment he made at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. This is rich considering Trump has engaged in what can only be described as a fossil fuel powered war against nature.

Planting trees will not come close to offsetting the ever increasing greenhouse gas emissions under this administration. The Hill quoted David Archer, a geophysical sciences professor at the University of Chicago as saying: "[F]ossil fuel carbon is so much bigger than all the carbon in the trees," he added. "You can’t do carbon neutral by planting trees...it’s sort of a Band Aid." Greenpeace has described the effort as a "poorly disguised get-out-of-jail-free card for the oil industry."

According to CNN fact checkers Trump also lied about jobs, immigration, the border wall, protecting preexisting conditions, drug overdose deaths, court appointments, prescription drug prices and trade. However, not everything Trump said was a lie. He did tell the truth when he said the reason the US is enjoying economic "progress" is because his administration trashed regulations and gave free reign to the fossil fuel industry.

His oratory may not have been presidential, but it was consistent with his disdain for facts and his opposition to science. Even though global warming was singled out as the leading global risk at WEF, when Trump was in Davos he used his time in the spotlight to mock climate icon Greta Thunberg and call activists "prophets of doom".

After his speech, Trump looked around the room imperiously, while Pelosi tore her copy of the speech in half. When asked about the address by reporters the Speaker of the House referred to it as a "manifesto of mistruths".

Related
Trump's State of Disunion 2018
Climate and Energy Excerpts from President Obama’s 2016 State of the Union Address
Obama Renews His Commitments to Clean Energy and Small Business

Investor Warning: Fossil Fuels and the Risk of Stranded Assets

It is becoming increasingly apparent that fossil fuels represent a substantial risk that should make investors wary. Fossil fuel reserves, including oil, gas and coal will be rendered obsolete in the coming decades, leaving investors holding valueless investments. A plethora of peer reviewed science tells us the curbing fossil fuel use is key to climate mitigation.

From widespread calamitous coastal flooding to devastating extreme weather events the need to urgently act on climate change has finally been accepted by every nation on earth. The economics of climate action is sound. A cost benefit analysis reveals the overwhelming logic. We must the eradication of fossil fuels as soon as possible. The impetus to act on climate change, once dismissed by some, is now a fact of life for all thinking people.

There is already downward pressure on the fossil fuel industry and this will only intensify in 2016 as we begin to see policy shifts and new regulatory regimes. The Paris Climate Agreement formally signals the end of fossil fuels

We are already seeing trillions of dollars being divested from the fossil fuel industry. Much of the money divested is being reallocated to renewable energy, the primary competition for the fossil fuel industry. Investments in fossil fuels need time to mature, however post Paris time is the one thing that fossil fuel investors do not have.

The IPCC Synthesis Report indicates that the burning of fossil fuels must be completely ended by 2100. We must work quickly to radically reduce our use of fossil fuels because the longer we wait the more it will cost. We also risk surpassing dangerous tipping points from which we will not be able to recover.  Simply put we cannot continue to burn fossil fuels if we hope to stay within the 2C upper threshold limit. 

The concerns about fossil fuels and stranded assets were reviewed in an April 8, 2016, CBC Business article by Don Pittis in which he warned investors about the dangers of fossil fuels. As he explained, the issue of stranded assets is not merely the concern of environmentalists, it is central to shrewd analyses of the investment community. Concerns about stranded assets are coming from all quarters including mainstream, credible sources, like Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England.

Research from the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers has already announced a $50 billion drop in Canadian oil and gas investment in electrical power plant generation from fossil fuels. However, there are implications for the oil sands and pipelines.

As explained in the CBC article, a Oxford University study indicates that after 2017, fossil fuel powered electricity generation may "not be able to run long enough to pay off their capital costs, turning them into stranded assets." This study expands the stranded-assets concept to include what economists call capital.

"Investors putting money into new carbon-emitting infrastructure need to ask hard questions about how long those assets will operate for, and assess the risk of future shutdowns and writeoffs," says Cameron Hepburn, one of the academics involved in Oxford study.

"If the 2 C target is to be taken seriously, then current and future assets will have to be written off before the end of their economically useful life (become stranded assets) or we will have to rely on large-scale investments down the line in carbon capture and storage technologies that are as yet unproven and expensive," says the report.

While the Oxford study is focused on electricity generation the implications extend to the fossil fuel industry as a whole. According to Duetsche Bank at least half of all known fossil fuel reserves will need to be kept in the ground to stay within our carbon budget. 

"For their own financial benefit, what investors must consider is whether the climate risk has been properly calculated into the future income stream." Pittis wrote. "If investors in power plants, pipelines and new oil development go ahead without proper regard to climate risk and find those assets stranded, they will be worth less than advertised."

The Financial Times covered the same study and reported:
"Virtually all new fossil fuel-burning power-generation capacity will end up stranded... A similar logic can be applied to parts of the capital stock."
Carbon dioxide remain in the atmosphere for centuries so we must appreciate not just annual emissions but their cumulative totals or the global carbon budget.

The Oxford paper states that capital stock created after 2017 would break the global carbon budget. However the Financial Times article suggests that the Oxford study is premised on some optimistic assumptions and therefore it may be more difficult to keep temperatures from rising beyond the 2C upper threshold limit. This assessment suggests that the risks are even greater than those presented in the Oxford research.

Why would any sane investor put his or her money into a source of energy that is doomed to be shut down?

As explained in the FT article:

"[G]iven the longevity of a large part of the capital stock, the time for decisive change is right now, not decades in future."

As reported in the Green Market Oracle, just ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement two reports corroborated concerns about stranded assets.  One of these reports come from the Think Tank, Carbon Tracker and another comes from Critical Resource, a firm that advises fossil fuel companies.

The Carbon Tracker report indicated that more than 2.2 trillion worth of fossil fuel projects are at risk of being stranded. Anthony Hobley, chief executive at Carbon Tracker said:

"Our report offers these companies a warning [about] avoiding significant value destruction,"

The top four countries at risk from stranded fossil fuel assets are the US at $412 billion, Canada at $220 billion, China at $179 billion and Australia at $103bn. The companies with the greatest exposure are Shell, ExxonMobil and Pemex.

Despite these risks, $1.3 trillion is being spent on new oil projects and $124 billion is being spent on existing projects. We need to start with a moratorium on new fossil fuel development.

Daniel Litvin, MD of Critical Resources said.

"The critical mass point could be as soon as a couple of years down the road, which is pretty soon for an industry that has been around for 100 years."

How can the oil industry fail to see the writing on the wall? The fossil fuel industry would not be the first that failed to see clear signs of its demise. Hobley pointed to the demise of Kodak and Blockbuster as illustrations.

In the past decade, the emissions implied by the investment in power generation have been rising at 4 percent a year. The math behind this investment growth when partnered with the need for climate action make investing in fossil fuels a fool's errand.

Related
The Risks Associated with Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets
COP21 and Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets
Fossil Fuel Divestment and Stranded Assets
Infographic - Stranded Fossil Fuel Assets
Oil is a Bad Investment
The Fossil Fuel Industry has Reason to be Nervous
Fossil Fuels are a Clear and Present Danger
Study on the Fossil Fuel Industry and the Bursting of the Carbon Bubble
Graph of Fossil Fuels GHG Contributions
The Cost of Carbon
Now is the Time to End our Reliance on Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels are making the Planet Uninhabitable
Fossil Fuels are the Most Hated Industry in the US
Exxon is not the Only Bad Apple: The Whole Fossil Fuel Industry is Rotten to the Core

Olympic Sized Greenwashing at the 2014 Sochi Olympics

The XXII Olympic Winter Games offically open today in Sochi, Russia, however rather than being the greenest games ever, they will likely be remembered as being rife with greenwash.

In 2007, the Olympic Committee selected the Russian Federation to host the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, a resort on the Black Sea.

These games will host 88 countries and have an estimated carbon footprint of around 400,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. By comparison the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympic Games’ generated 311,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

UNEP

UNEP is a longstanding collaborator with the Olympic games and they were invited by the Russian Government and the Organizing Committee of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games to provide guidance on the integration of environmental considerations in the preparation and staging of the Games.

UNEP has conducted six expert missions to Moscow and Sochi that resulted in the following:
  • The relocation of the sliding venues and the Olympic Mountain Village away from the borders of the UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • The organisation of multi-stakeholder roundtables in support of a transparent and participatory process
  • A commitment by the Russian Government to undertake through Olympstroy a comprehensive environmental impact assessments on the ground
  • A commitment by investors and contractors to participate in the development and implementation of a restoration plan for the Mzymta River Basin

UNEP has also assisted with the development of Action Plans for the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee in the following key areas:
  • Zero Waste 
  • Climate Neutrality 
  • Harmony with Nature 
  • Environmental Enlightenment and Education

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee is also working with other United Nations (UN) departments including the UNDP (the UN Development Program) and UNESCO (The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization).

Carbon Mitigation

To help reduce the carbon footprint in Sochi, Dow Chemical was chosen as the Official Carbon Partner of the XXII Olympic Winter Games. The company is mitigating the game's carbon footprint using its energy-efficient technologies. Dow has contributed in areas such as building infrastructure, industry and agriculture.

Green Building

For the Sochi games Russia has inaugurated a system of green construction standards for approximately 200 venues that involves the use of environmentally friendly building materials and renewable sources of energy, waste minimization, recycling, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as sustainable water and energy use. While the theoretical ideals behind carbon reduction efforts and green building initiatives are laudable, news about the actual practices emerging out of Sochi are far less positive.

Destroying Protected Lands

Russia destroyed vast swaths of land to build the 2014 Olympics. One example involves an entirely unnecessary 17-kilometer road though the pristine forest of the Caucasus Reserve in the Sakhe River valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Corruption scandals are rampant and citizens have been subject to illegal evictions.

Environmental Watch activists say authorities have violated the “Zero Waste” pledge. It is also contravenes preexisting Russian Law. According to the nation's Water Code it is forbidden to dump the construction waste in the area surrounding the Olympic Village due to the fact that it can contaminate the major water source in the area. Nonetheless, these regulations have been violated many times. Senior IOC members have urged Russian government to investigate and ensure the sustainability of the Olympics construction sites.

Sustainability Awards

The green charade being staged Russia is illustrated by the "winners" of Russia's “Gateway to the Future” Sustainability Award. This "honor" ostensibly recognizes the best ecological, social and economic projects carried out by organizations involved in preparations for the 2014 Games.

State owned Russian Railways won the best complex project award for its combined road and railway from Adler to Alpika-Servis. The railroad and parallel road that lead from Sochi up to the surrounding mountains for alpine events cost $8.5 billion, but the environmental toll will be even higher. There does not appear to have been an environmental impact assessment, or if there was it was either woefully incompetent or it has not been adhered to.

Fish, Mammal and Bird Impacts

To build the railroad, the Russian Railways destoyed 30 miles of mountainside, decimated thousands of acres of forest, and pave over the Mzymta River which will prove disastrous for the Black Sea salmon. This project will disrupt the migratory habits of several other animal species in the Aigba Mountain Range. The once pristine Mzymta river has been tainted by chemical pollutants and debris. Although millions of trout hatchlings were released into the river in several batches, however, official monitoring report in 2013 found none alive. The road has also caused the wells in local villages to run dry and it may also cut off water supplies from wetlands.

The "Ornithological Park" just outside of Sochi was once a heaven for 65 species of birds including vulnerable Dalmatian pelicans. Now the park is buried under two metres (6.5 feet) of crushed rock and is devoid of bird life

Illegal Landfill

The railroad is using an illegal landfill just north of Sochi, which is located in the middle of a water protection zone where dumping industrial waste is banned, this contravenes Russia's "Zero Waste" program. The Environmental Protection Agency in the area said it fined Russian Railways, $3,000 for the dumping, but it did not order the dump closed. The main health concern surrounding the landfill is to the water supply.

Forest Impacts

While many trees were destroyed to make way for the Sochi games, many more were planted. Olympic contractors planted 1.5 million new trees. This apparently breaks down to three trees for every one that was cut down in the Sochi National Park. However, planting does not replace the complex and diverse ecosystem of an old growth forest.

Persecution of Environmentalists

Russian environmentalists who have spoken out about the environmental impacts of the games are being threatened. Andrey Rudomakha, the leader of Environmental Watch of the North Caucasus (EWNC). was threatened by Russian authorities after the organization said that the Olympics will cause serious damage to Sochi National Park. Other activists have also been persecuted by the state including Gazaryan and Vitishko who have both been convicted of property damage following a protest over a residence allegedly belonging to the local governor.

Greenwash

Taken together, the picture emerging out of Sochi is more about greenwash on a colossal scale than it is about serious sustainability efforts. One recent illustration involves a carefully staged photo-op in which the Russian President is seen caressing an endangered Persian leopard cub. It is meant to create the impression that President Vladimir Putin actually cares about the environment.

“We’ve decided to restore the population of the Persian leopard because of the Olympic Games,” Putin said. “Let’s say that because of the Olympic Games, we have restored parts of the destroyed nature.”

Perhaps the best image depicting the 2014 games in Sochi was that of a women who was spray painting the grass green around an Olympic venue (see image above).

The Sochi 2014 environmental programs will have lasting impacts on the environment although not in the positive way that was originally hoped for. Rather than protect water, flora and fauna in the region, the adverse environmental impacts of the games will be felt for generations.

The games have seriously undermined regional biodiversity which all but eradicates claims that this is a green olympics, let alone the greenest ever. Sochi organizers have failed on all their green promises, says Suren Gazaryan, a zoologist and member of the EWNC.

Simon Lewis, who runs Team Planet, a U.K.-based consultancy on sustainability in sport, says “Sochi should never have happened in that location. It was a poor decision by IOC members based on poor information.”

Rashid Alimov, coordinator of the toxic waste program at Greenpeace Russia said Sochi authorities are interpreting "Zero Waste" to mean getting waste out of sight.

Russia is infamous for its wanton pursuit of petrochemicals and more recently it has been gaining notoriety for its intolerance toward the LGBT community.

With an estimated 51 billion dollar price tag, and billions of dollars lost due to graft, Sochi may be remembered as the most corrupt and certainly the most expensive winter games but it won't be remembered as the greenest.

© 2014, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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ALEC Must Die

There is a sinister force that is corrupting American politics by giving the most environmentally destructive elements of Big Business significant control over state legislatures. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) turns 40 this year. This organization is composed of large corporations and state lawmakers. They draft environmentally harmful model laws that have been adopted in state legislatures across the country.

ALEC describes itself as “nonpartisan public-private partnership” and is registered as a not for profit organization. While the organization enjoys 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status, many groups see it as little more than a front for one of the most powerful and influential lobby groups in America.

The threat to America’s democracy from ALEC should not be underestimated as this is a well-funded and well-coordinated organization that has a proven track record of successfully manipulating state legislatures.

According to a new report from the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), ALEC continues to hold sway over statehouses across the country. In total, CMD identified 466 ALEC bills that were introduced in state legislatures during the first seven months of 2013. At least eighty-four of these measures have become law.

As reviewed in PR Watch, ALEC’s real mission in state legislatures is, “to allow dirty energy companies to pollute as much as they want, to attack incentives for clean energy competitors and to secure government handouts to oil, gas and coal interests,” says Connor Gibson, a Research Associate at Greenpeace.

Fossil fuel lobby


One of the most egregious threats to the public interest comes from the fossil fuel industry’s involvement with ALEC. “Disregarding science at every turn, ALEC is willing to simply serve as a front for the fossil fuel industry,” says Bill McKibben, co-founder of 350.org.

Corporate sponsors of ALEC include the leaders of the fossil fuel industry. Companies like Koch Industries, ExxonMobil, Duke Energy, Peabody Energy, BP, Shell, Chevron, TransCanada and American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, as well as industry trade associations and large corporate foundations provide almost all of ALEC’s funding.

ALEC’s goals are clear, they seek to provide financial rewards and protections to the companies that they work with.

According to Calvin Sloan, a legislative researcher with People for the American Way, corporations pay $50,000 each for full membership in ALEC. The purpose of the ALEC meetings is to instruct lawmakers on policy initiatives, which according to Sloan is “a fossil fuels-funded agenda.”
“They [ALEC] have participating corporations like fossil fuel companies drafting legislation that benefits those corporations directly, and then can get that legislation introduced in 50 states within a year,” Sloan said. “It’s part of an overall framework of corporations exerting their will and agenda upon the people.”
ALEC supports some of the most destructive fossil fuel legislation ever tabled including bills supporting coal, fracking and the Keystone XL Pipeline project.  It should come as no surprise that TransCanada Corp., the company that wants to build the Keystone XL pipeline, is also a member of ALEC. The company even sponsored an expense-paid trip called “ALEC academy” for nine ALEC-member state legislators. Following the trip, some of those in attendance introduced resolutions backing the pipeline in their state legislatures.
According to CMD, 77 ALEC bills promoting fossil fuels and undermining environmental protections were introduced in 34 states in 2013. At least seventeen of these measures have become law.

 

Climate change denial


ALEC’s activities extend beyond support for fossil fuel interests and encompass climate change misinformation. The Environmental Literacy Improvement Act which passed in at least four states, teaches children that climate change is a “controversial theory.” (The truth is that with 98 percent support, there are few theories that have garnered more support from scientists than anthropogenic climate change).

ALEC is a leading organization that actively denies the veracity of anthropogenic climate change and opposes limits on climate change causing emissions. At the 2013 meeting of ALEC, climate change was one of the items on the agenda.

One of the speakers at this year’s ALEC meeting was Joe Bastardi, he is a leading climate change denier and television weather forecaster who frequently comments on Fox News. He has called human-caused global warming an “obvious fraud.”  This year, Bastardi was the speaker at a plenary breakfast meeting misleadingly titled “A Thoughtful Approach to Climate Science.” In 2011, he spoke about “The Many Benefits of Increased Atmospheric CO2″ at ALEC’s annual meeting.

As reported in a May 2013 Forbes article, Bastardi says that “blaming turbulent weather on global warming is extreme nonsense.” While many have speculated as to whether he is willfully ignorant, willful, or just plain ignorant, as a meteorologist Bastardi should know better.

 

Opposition to renewable energy


ALEC does not only work in support of dirty hydrocarbons, it also is working to snuff out renewable energy. “ALEC’s long time role in denying the science and policy solutions to climate change is shifting into an evolving roadblock on state and federal clean energy incentives, a necessary part of global warming mitigation,” says Gibson.

Through legislation called the Electricity Freedom Act, ALEC sought to prevent states from requiring energy companies to increase electricity production from renewable energy sources. Because the Electricity Freedom Act failed to gain the support of state legislatures, ALEC is modifying its plan of attack against renewable energy standards. At its August 2013 meeting, ALEC introduced a bill called the Market Power Renewables Act, which seeks to undermine the Renewable Portfolio Standard or RPS.

As explained by PR Watch, this legislation “would phase-out a state’s RPS and instead create a renewable “market” where consumers can choose to pay for renewable energy, and allow utilities to purchase energy credits from outside the state. This thwarts the purpose of RPS policies, which help create the baseline demand for renewables that will spur the clean energy investment necessary to continue developing the technology and infrastructure that will drive costs down.”

 

Opposition to emissions reduction


ALEC has drafted laws that seek to oppose state efforts to reduce emissions. This includes a model bill titled, “State Withdrawal from Regional Climate Initiatives”, which opposes limiting climate change causing carbon emissions.

ALEC bills have not only opposed efforts from state agencies to regulate pollution, they even tried to stop the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions.
In essence, ALEC’s goal is to undermine emissions reduction efforts and to continue our reliance on fossil fuels. Resistance to limiting atmospheric CO2 represents a serious threat to global health as it is widely understood that failure to reign in carbon emissions will have catastrophic consequences.

 

Control of water, land and information


An ALEC bill titled “Environmental Services Public-Private Partnership Act” would give for-profit companies control over wastewater treatment and drinking water. Another ALEC law titled “Disposal and Taxation of Public Lands Act” would give states access to resources in federal lands that are protected as wilderness preserves.

In addition to promoting anti-environmental bills, and seeking control over resources, they also craft legislation to control information and help industry escape public accountability. ALEC’s Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act would quash the First Amendment rights of reporters, investigators and videographers by making it harder for them to document issues associated with food safety and animal cruelty.  This is similar to Utah’s ag-gag law of 2012, which led to charges against a young woman named Amy Meyer, who filmed the outside of a slaughterhouse from public land. This ALEC model bill could also criminalize environmental civil disobedience.

Click here to view the full list of 2013 bills from the ALEC Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force bills.

 

Growing resistance


The American public is increasingly aware of ALEC’s activities. As ALEC gathered for its 40th annual meeting in Chicago on August 7, they were met by protesters who marched outside the Palmer House Hotel where the meeting was held. The thousands who demonstrated included environmentalists, union members, civil rights activists, and social justice campaigners. Although this was not the first protest against ALEC, it was the largest to date.

Groundbreaking news coverage has helped to expose ALEC. Some of the most inclusive coverage of ALEC was provided by the CMD in the 2011 piece titled “ALEC Exposed.” Another was a documentary from Bill Moyers & Company titled “United States of ALEC.

One of the ways that ALEC has managed to wield so much power is by virtue of the fact that they have always functioned in the shadows. However, people are increasingly coming to terms with the nefarious ways in which ALEC threatens democracy and efforts to combat climate change.

The normally clandestine activities of ALEC are no longer hidden under a blanket of secrecy. Companies are increasingly understanding that involvement with ALEC is a PR liability.  Already, there have been a number of big multinationals that have withdrawn from the organization. Over the past year-and-a-half, almost 50 global corporations have dropped their ALEC membership and national campaigns are encouraging others to abandon ALEC.

After four decades of covert operations, ALEC is starting to feel the pressure from public scrutiny. Although ongoing resistance can be expected from the fossil fuel industry, public awareness can divest ALEC of its influence over state legislatures.

Shinning a spotlight on ALEC’s activities will kill the succubus that is draining the lifeblood from America’s democracy.

Source: Global Warming is Real

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Video - United States of ALEC


Moyers & Company presents "United States of ALEC," a report on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of -- ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a "nonpartisan public-private partnership." But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.

"United States of ALEC" is a collaboration between Okapi Productions, LLC and the Schumann Media Center, headed by Bill Moyers, which supports independent journalism and public watchdogs including the Center for Media and Democracy, whose investigators are featured in the report.

Using interviews, documents, and field reporting, the episode explores ALEC's self-serving machine at work, acting in a way one Wisconsin politician describes as "a corporate dating service for lonely legislators and corporate special interests."

In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers -- each accomplished without the public ever knowing who's behind it.

"United States of ALEC" is a collaboration between Okapi Productions, LLC and the Schumann Media Center, headed by Bill Moyers, which supports independent journalism and public watchdogs including the Center for Media and Democracy, whose investigators are featured in the report.

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Video - United States of ALEC: A Follow-Up


Moyers & Company follows up on a breakthrough 2012 report about ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council. A national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a "nonpartisan public-private partnership." But behind that mantra lies a network of lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.

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Video - ALEC's Organized Corruption



ALEC creates model bills, drafted by lobbyists and lawmakers. This includes support for the lax regulations in the fossil fuel industry and resistance to clean sources of energy.

However there ALEC's influence extends far beyond crafting model legislation. As explained in the New York Times, "a review of internal ALEC documents shows that this is only one facet of a sophisticated operation for shaping public policy at a state-by-state level. The records offer a glimpse of how special interests effectively turn ALEC's lawmaker members into stealth lobbyists, providing them with talking points, signaling how they should vote and collaborating on bills affecting hundreds of issues like school vouchers and tobacco taxes. The documents — hundreds of pages of minutes of private meetings, member e-mail alerts and correspondence — were obtained by the watchdog group Common Cause and shared with The New York Times..."

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Video - How ALEC Controls US Legislation


This is an important report on the subversion of America's legislative process by Big Oil and other corporate interests. The "United States of ALEC," is a report from Moyers & Company on the most influential corporate-funded political force most of America has never heard of -- ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council.

ALEC is a national consortium of state politicians and powerful corporations, ALEC presents itself as a "nonpartisan public-private partnership." But behind that mantra lies a vast network of corporate lobbying and political action aimed to increase corporate profits at public expense without public knowledge.

Using interviews, documents, and field reporting, the episode explores ALEC's self-serving machine at work, acting in a way one Wisconsin politician describes as "a corporate dating service for lonely legislators and corporate special interests."

In state houses around the country, hundreds of pieces of boilerplate ALEC legislation are proposed or enacted that would, among other things, dilute collective bargaining rights, make it harder for some Americans to vote, and limit corporate liability for harm caused to consumers -- each accomplished without the public ever knowing who's behind it.

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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 Deniers Could Learn from Pascal's Wager

Rather than engage in protracted  psuedo-scientific debates, perhaps a touch of philosophy might help some climate deniers to see the value of acting to combat climate change.

Climate deniers must go through a series of intellectual gymnastics to find pretexts to poke holes in the legion of scientists and plethora of independent research that supports anthropogenic climate change. Perhaps the following philosophical position may save them from the effort needed for their intellectlual contortions.

Blaise Pascal famously said, “Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.”

While Pascal's Wager was meant to apply to God it could just as well apply to global warming. For the sake of argument, let us pretend that climate change does not materialize as predicted, what harm is there in reducing pollution and finding cleaner sources of fuel? If as is far more likely scientific predictions prove accurate, their belief, however ingenuine, may have helped to stave off an unprecedented cataclysm.

© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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