The week began eldritch and then got weirder . First , it was reported that a Kentucky land senator said climate change is implausible because Earth and Mars share the exact same temperature . And then a U.S. congressman linked the climate change debate to the ozone hole “ hoax ” and the fluorination of weewee .
So , let ’s start with Kentucky State Senator Brandon Smith ( R - D30 ) , the majority whip and possessor of a minelaying company wholashed outat a witness during a Natural Resources and Environment Committee encounter :
As you [ Energy & Environment Cabinet official ] sit there in your chair with your datum , we sit up here in ours with our datum and our constituents and stuff behind us . I wo n’t get into the disputation about climate alteration but I ’ll simply indicate out that I cerebrate in academia we all match that the temperature on Mars is on the dot as it is here . Nobody will scrap that . Yet there are no coal mines on Mars . There ’s no factories on Mars that I ’m cognisant of .
Meteorologist Dan Satterfield , bloggingover at the American Geophysical Union , was fleet and merciless in his response :
A statement like this from a fifth grader would be alarming , but from someone ( State Senator Brandon Smith ) who get to legal philosophy is downright frightening . What is more frightening is that the science literacy of his constituency is so low , he ’ll belike be easily return . In case there are any doubts I looked up the conditions on Mars today . We can do that thanks to a set of meteoric instruments aboard NASA ’s Curiosity Rover .
The fact that he owns a coal mine might have something to do with this . As Sebastian Unger said in the Jungle , “ It ’s closely impossible to win over some of anything , if their paycheck depends on it being otherwise ” . Your grade school should cancel your diploma Senator . Your voters should fire you .
And then yesterday , Representative Dana Rohrabacher ( R - CA ) was a node of honor at the ninth International Conference on Climate Change , a three - day denial - fest shop by wads of organisation , include the Heartland Institute , an rock oil and gas industry - funded think tank .
During Congressional hearings , Rohrabacher use atmosphere quote when he says “ spherical warming ” andonce demandedthat a scientist “ capsulize ” all the reasons why he believes that clime change is a big deal in 10 seconds .
The House Science Committee declare The IPCC Report Is Not skill
At the mood variety league , hedidn’t disappoint . First , he ranted about the ozone golf hole and how environmentalism hurt the poorest member of our social club :
What about the ozone hole ? I ’m indisputable there are scientists here who know a flock more here than I do . But my recital of that is that the ozone hole is sort of like global warming . It was an exaggerated position on some readings and we ended up with the ozone fix … And , in fact , the ozone hole after a few geezerhood just disappeared . Yet , we were all told this was a huge crisis , and what happened after that huge crisis hit ? We had to get free of Freon , we had to get rid of all the stuff in the spray cans . How much did that be us ? When we spend billion of dollar needlessly because someone has frightened us into assume the position , it damage people in our bon ton . When you have less wealth , the mass at the lowest rungs of our economic sphere are the single who sense it the most . [ applause ]
Where to begin ? ( 1 ) The ozone trap has n’t evaporate , but isstabilizingand well on on its agency to make a full convalescence by 2070 . ( 2 ) The international pact to do against the ozone hole was a vast success — and epitomize the type of world-wide agreement that Republicans in Congress touch to as aplotto “ redistribute wealth among Carry Nation . ”
And then , Rohrabacher had this to say :
“ I do n’t know whether or not fluoridating the water helps the great unwashed ’s teeth become better or not … But I do know that in this country , we should be the ace who should be deciding what we put into our consistency one room or the other , not the federal governance or the local administration set up fluoride into our H2O ! ”
Really , he makes it almost too easy :
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