On Global Warming, Republicans Burying Their Heads in the Dried-Up Soil
It’s over 100 again in Wisconsin, and we’ve been way above normal every single day this month, and we’ve barely gotten a drop of rain in six weeks.
We’re not alone. Most of the country is facing the worst drought in 56 years. And yet, on the issue of global warming, the Republicans still have their heads in the dried-up soil.
On Friday, two leading Democratic House members on the Energy and Commerce Committee, Henry Waxman and Bobby Rush, wrote a letter to their Republican counterparts that began this way:
“We are writing for the fifteenth time to urge you to hold a hearing on the dangers of climate change,” Waxman and Rush said. “Specifically, we request that you hold a hearing on the recent wildfires and extreme weather events the United States has experienced and the role global climate change played in these events.”
They said that their Republican counterparts “have not responded to any of our letters.”
They rightly chided the Republicans for being know-nothings: “Willful ignorance of the science,” they said, “is irresponsible and it is dangerous.” And they quoted several leading scientists, including Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton, who said: “What we’re seeing really is a window into what global warming really looks like.”
Waxman and Rush also noted the obstructionism by the House not only on holding hearings but on substantive matters, as well.
“In total, the House has voted 37 times this year to overturn EPA’s scientific findings that climate change endangers health and the environment, to stop regulations to reduce carbon emissions, to prevent the United States from participating in international negotiations, and even to cut funding for basic climate science,” they wrote. “This is a shameful record.”
A spokesperson for the Republicans on the committee told TalkingPointsMemo they held one hearing on the subject 16 months ago, and now “the committee’s focus continues to be on jobs and promoting commonsense solutions that protect both the environment and the economy.”
But ignoring the science on global warming isn’t common sense. And it’s not a solution. It’s a planetary death wish.
If you liked this story by Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive magazine, check out his story “Obama Strikes Populist Chord on Taxes."
Follow Matthew Rothschild @mattrothschild on Twitter
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