Newly elected Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), in his first speech on the floor
of the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, spoke on the urgency of fighting
climate change pollution with new clean energy.
“We need to create an end of the era of climate denial. Climate change
is irrefutable. It is raising sea levels. It is giving storms more
power. The planet is running a fever. There are no emergency rooms for
planets. We must put in place the preventative care of unleashing a
renewable energy revolution in wind, in solar, in biomass, in
geothermal, in energy efficiency that avoids the worst, most
catastrophic impacts of climate change on this planet. We are seeing
it on an ongoing basis, not just here, but across the planet.
Our moral duty to future generations calls on us to address climate
change. But it also is an economic opportunity to create new jobs here
in our country. I will soon introduce new legislation that will call
on American to reach a 25 percent target for clean energy and energy
efficiency improvements. This bill will create jobs as it cuts
pollution. And I will continue to work to pass climate legislation as
I did in the House of Representatives.”
Video:
As a member of the House of Representatives, Markey was a co-sponsor of
climate legislation that passed the House in 2009 but died in the U.S.
Senate.
In an impassioned floor speech on Tuesday, freshman U.S. Senator Angus
King (I-Maine) compared Churchill’s unheeded warnings about the threat
of Hitler to America’s inaction on the global threat of climate change
pollution. Sen. King also described how carbon dioxide has been rising
since the start of the Industrial Revolution, how sea level rise
threatens America’s coastal cities, and how Maine’s lobsters are
threatened with extinction by global warming.
“I rise today, Madam President, because we are entering a period of
consequences,” Sen. King said. “It’s 1936. It’s August of 2001, when we
had warnings Al Qaeda determined to strike in the United States.”
Sen. King concluded, “The generation that finally woke up to World War
II, and fought it, and preserved this country and the western
civilization for us has often been referred to as the Greatest
Generation. The reason they were the Greatest Generation is that they
were willing to face a problem and make enormous sacrifices in order to
deal with it, to protect us and our children and grandchildren and our
ability to function in this new world. They were the Greatest
Generation. I have to say, Madam President, if somebody was going to
characterize us, we’d be characterized as the Oblivious Generation – the
generation that saw the data, saw the facts, saw the freight train
headed for us and said, ‘That’s okay, it’s business as usual. Don’t
bother me, I don’t want to be inconvenienced.’”
Sen. King was governor of Maine from 1995 to 2003.
Microsoft is
defending its membership in one of the country’s most notorious enemies
of environmental protection, the American Legislative Exchange Council
(ALEC). In an August blog
post,
Microsoft chief environmental strategist Rob Bernard acknowledged that
his company is a member and supporter of ALEC,
which has for decades promoted an agenda of climate change denial,
attacks on renewable energy, and opposition to environmental protection
on behalf of funders such as Koch Industries, Exxon Mobil, and other
conservative fossil-fuel interests. ALEC is an
alliance of corporations, conservative foundations, and Republican state
legislators that promotes anti-regulatory and conservative legislation
at the state level.
Bernard argued that Microsoft’s membership in
ALEC “is not an endorsement” of the group’s
anti-environmental agenda:
As you would expect, Microsoft works with a wide range of groups
across the political spectrum addressing policy issues important to
our business. We work with many of these groups on narrowly-tailored
technology policy issues and not the full set of issues they address.
Our engagement with a particular group is not an endorsement of all
the policy positions those groups have taken. For instance, we’ve
received some questions about model legislation developed by the
American Legislative Exchange Council that would repeal renewable
energy mandates at the state level. To clarify this issue, Microsoft
participates in ALEC’s Communication and
Technology Task Force, as do many leading companies in the technology
sector. We do not participate in any other
ALEC task forces or provide any support or
funding for ALEC’s work on environmental
issues or other issues outside of communication and technology policy.
In short, ALEC is not speaking for us on
renewable energy policy.
Microsoft is also a funder of the Heartland
Institute,
a long-time partner of ALEC in the promotion
of climate change denial and attacks on the integrity of climate
scientists.
Google
is no longer simply the Internet’s search engine. The company now is
building Google+ into a diverse, curated-garden experience with the goal
of social media
domination
that keeps user traffic within Google’s walls. In recent years the
company has significantly ramped up its engagement in national
politics,
led by former Republican representative Susan Molinari.
The revamped Google is now joining the ranks of the top corporate
funders of the climate-denial movement. In 2013, Google has held a
fundraiser for Sen. Jim
Inhofe
(“Global warming is a hoax”) at its DC headquarters, been the top funder
of the annual dinner of the Competitive Enterprise
Institute
(“CO2: We Call It Life”), and joined the American Legislative Exchange
Council
(“Even substantial global warming is likely to be of benefit to the
United States”).
In response, hundreds of people have flooded the Google+ page for the
Google DC headquarters with one-star
reviews.
The page also now includes photographs from the protest organized by
Forecast the Facts during the Google DC fundraiser for Inhofe.
This digital activism is only part of a 150,000-person strong
campaign
led by Forecast the Facts with support from Credo, Greenpeace, Sum Of
Us, and other groups. The coalition has organized on-the-street protests
of Google in DC, Mountain View, and New York City.
Nevada Congressman Mark
Amodei of the Second District rejects the scientific fact of
anthropogenic global warming. In a recent letter to a constituent, Rep.
Amodei (R-Nev.) claimed that scientists “argue that these temperature
increases would incur regardless due to the warming of the center of the
earth.” His
comments
were published by Daily Kos.
“The issue of climate change is very controversial and many scientists
disagree as to its causes and how to handle it. I recognize that some
scientists believe that global warming is caused by failed
environmental practices; however, others argue that these temperature
increases would incur regardless due to the warming of the center of
the earth. I do not believe it is appropriate for the federal
government to advocate one position over the other. Since, we do not
know much about long-term climate change, I do agree we must have an
unbiased research effort funded by both the government and the private
sector to answer the essential questions about climate change.”
In reality, the carbon-dioxide greenhouse effect is a physical fact
known since the 1800s. The only scientifically plausible systematic
explanation for the rapid warming of the planetary climate since 1950 is
industrial greenhouse pollution. Surface warming from the earth’s
radioactive core amounts to only 0.087 watt per square
meter, whereas
incoming solar radiation provides 236 watts per square meter. Because of
the hundreds of billions of tons of industrial carbon dioxide added to
the atmosphere, the radiative forcing of greenhouse gases has
increased from 1
W/m2 to 2.4 W/m2. The global climate is continuing
to warm, with every decade since the 1970s warmer than the last, and the
impacts of global warming are accelerating faster than scientists
projected.
Rep. Amodei is a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources,
sitting on the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands
and the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
The complete constituent letter of Rep. Amodei’s rejection of climate
science is below.
Arizona
Congressman Matt Salmon of the Fifth District makes light of the
scientific fact of anthropogenic global warming. In an April 26, 2013
interview
with the Arizona Republic, Rep. Salmon (R-Ariz.) said global warming
is “coming from the hot air coming out of Washington.”
“I found the source of global warming is coming from the hot air
coming out of Washington.”
Rep. Salmon has taken the Koch Industries’ “No Climate Tax”
pledge
and voted repeatedly against climate action.
In reality, the carbon-dioxide greenhouse effect is a physical fact
known since the 1800s. The only scientifically plausible systematic
explanation for the rapid warming of the planetary climate since 1950 is
industrial greenhouse pollution. Because of the hundreds of billions of
tons of industrial carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere, the global
climate is continuing to warm, with every decade since the 1970s warmer
than the last, and the impacts of global warming are accelerating faster
than scientists projected.
Freshman
Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry of the Fourth District rejects the
scientific fact of anthropogenic global warming. In a September 20, 2012
debate, then-candidate Perry (R-Penn.) said he “take[s] exception”
that global warming is “man-made” and is “concerned” that the “theory”
of global warming is not “proven.” His
comments
were transcribed by the York Daily Record’s Ed Mahon for the paper’s
political blog.
“I do believe global warming is occurring. …However, I do take
exception, whether it’s man-made or not. I learned in public school,
the scientific theory. …You have a theory and it has to be proven.
And I’m concerned anytime that a nation, or the world, makes up policy
based on a theory that … has gained consensus but” does not have
proof, he said.
In reality, the carbon-dioxide greenhouse effect is a physical fact
known since the 1800s. The only scientifically plausible systematic
explanation – what the word “theory” means in scientific jargon, despite
Rep. Perry’s confusion – for the rapid warming of the planetary climate
since 1950 is industrial greenhouse pollution. Because of the hundreds
of billions of tons of industrial carbon dioxide added to the
atmosphere, the global climate is continuing to warm, with every decade
since the 1970s warmer than the last, and the impacts of global warming
are accelerating faster than scientists projected.
Pennsylvania Congressman Keith Rothfus of the 12th District rejects the
scientific fact of anthropogenic global warming. In a 2010 interview
unearthed by Hill Heat, then-candidate Rothfus (R-Penn.) said he was
“dubious” that global warming was “man-made” or a “fact.”
“I do not believe it’s man-made, and I am not convinced that it’s a
fact. I think the science is still out. I think for the last 15 years
we haven’t had any warming. I think you go back when we had a medieval
warm period, where we were growing crops in Greenland. We could do
that maybe if we kept warming up over the next 20 to 30 years. I do
think the jury’s out on that. I’m very dubious as to whether or not
this is what they call anthropogenic, man-made. When you talk about
280 parts per billion [sic] I think of carbon, these are very small
amounts.”
Watch:
In reality, the carbon-dioxide greenhouse effect is a physical fact
known since the 1800s. The only scientifically plausible explanation for
the rapid warming of the planetary climate since 1950 is industrial
greenhouse pollution. Rothfus was off on his estimation of the
concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by a factor of 1000.
Carbon dioxide levels have risen from pre-industrial concentrations of
280 parts per million to the present-day 400 parts per million, a 40
percent increase. Because of the hundreds of billions of tons of
industrial carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere, the global climate is
continuing to warm, with every decade since the 1970s warmer than the
last, and the impacts of global warming are accelerating faster than
scientists projected.
The so-called Medieval Warm Period was a period between the 10th to 15th
centuries of higher than average solar radiation and lower than average
volcanic activity where some parts of the world, including Greenland,
were about as warm as have been in the past decade. During that period
the global climate was significantly
cooler
than the present day.
Montana Congressman Steve Daines believes that there is “compelling”
evidence that solar cycles, not industrial pollution, are causing global
warming. In a 2012 radio interview unearthed by Hill Heat,
then-candidate Daines (R-Mont.) details to
NPR’s Sally
Mauk
his version of the “sun causes global warming” canard:
Q: You mentioned that there is debate about whether human activity is
contributing to climate change, the burning of fossil fuels
particularly. My question is where do you come down on that debate. Is
it, or is it not?
DAINES: I think the jury’s still out in my
opinion, Sally, on that. I’ve seen some very good data that says there
are other contributing factors there, certainly looking at the effect
the sun has, and it’s the solar cycles versus
CO2 and greenhouse gases. So I look at this
as saying I want to keep an open mind on this, but I’m not convinced.
I’m a skeptic, I hear sometimes on both sides, because I think they’re
using their agenda here just for political points here rather than
looking objectively at the data. I think there’s compelling data on
both sides of the equation now, for and against, that I think we need
to continue to look and study this before making firm policy-type
decisions on it.
Listen:
In reality, the carbon-dioxide greenhouse effect is a physical fact
known since the 1800s. The only scientifically plausible explanation for
the rapid warming of the planetary climate since 1950 is industrial
greenhouse pollution. The variations in solar warming and other natural
influences, scientists have found, have had a cooling influence entirely
swamped out by human-induced warming. Because of the hundreds of
billions of tons of industrial carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere,
the global climate is continuing to warm, with every decade since the
1970s warmer than the last, and the impacts of global warming are
accelerating faster than scientists projected.
North Dakota Congressman Kevin Cramer believes that anthropogenic global
warming is a “fraudulent science,” the result of a scientific conspiracy
to promote wind farms and carbon taxes at the expense of cheap coal. In
a February 4, 2012 radio interview unearthed by Hill Heat,
then-candidate Cramer (R-N.D.) details to
KNOX’s Jarrod Thomas his version of the
“Climategate” conspiracy theory:
“These mandates and these wind farms are all based on this fraudulent
science from the EPA, meaning their claim
that CO2 is a pollutant and is causing
global warming. I’m sure you’re familiar with one of the leading
climate research centers in the world there at East Anglia University
in England, the Hadley Research Centre. The director, Phil Jones, his
emails, he admitted that he was falsifying temperature data. The
reason he had to do is because was the data was showing the global
climate is actually declining in temperature, temperatures were going
down. He was overlaying higher temperatures on the real data to show
that it was actually rising. We know the globe is cooling. Number one,
we know that. So the idea that CO2 is
somehow causing global warming is on its face fraudulent.”
Listen:
In reality, the carbon-dioxide greenhouse effect is a physical fact
known since the 1800s. The stolen emails from the University of East
Anglia Climatic Research Unit (the Hadley Research Centre is a separate
institution) do not provide support for Cramer’s libelous attacks on Dr.
Jones. The global climate is continuing to warm, with every decade since
the 1970s warmer than the last, and the impacts of global warming are
accelerating faster than scientists projected.
Rep. Cramer is a member of the House Committee on Science.
Microsoft is
defending its membership in one of the country’s most notorious enemies
of environmental protection, the American Legislative Exchange Council
(ALEC). In an 
Nevada Congressman Mark
Amodei of the Second District rejects the scientific fact of
anthropogenic global warming. In a recent letter to a constituent, Rep.
Amodei (R-Nev.) claimed that scientists “argue that these temperature
increases would incur regardless due to the warming of the center of the
earth.” His
Arizona
Congressman Matt Salmon of the Fifth District makes light of the
scientific fact of anthropogenic global warming. In an April 26, 2013
Freshman
Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry of the Fourth District rejects the
scientific fact of anthropogenic global warming. In a September 20, 2012
debate, then-candidate Perry (R-Penn.) said he “take[s] exception”
that global warming is “man-made” and is “concerned” that the “theory”
of global warming is not “proven.” His