ericgrimsrud

I sometime wonder if the Republicans who I regularly paint as being scientific morons on this blog are really that bad. That is, given all the scientific information they have been provided by our nation’s very own scientific organizations and our official adviser on all scientific issues, the National Academy of Sciences, surely you might expect them to be at least moderately well-informed, right?  Well if you happen to think so, have a look at the following video and then think again.

What is shown here is a discussion among Republicans serving on the Committee on Natural Resources in response to a suggestion by the President’s Council on Environmental Quality to include carbon pollution and the effects of climate change in the consideration of environmental impacts of federal projects.  Needless to say, the Republicans on the committee don’t like the idea and, in addition, clearly express their distain for the consensus view of professional climate scientists.  Note also that in order to add a speck of legitimacy to their pathetic cause, the only professional scientist they invited to attend this meeting was John Christy of the University of Alabama, Huntsville, one of the very few professional scientists in our country who does not believe that man is causing climate change.  As one Democratic member of the committee stated near the end of this video, this committee should be “congratulated” for finding such a person”.

Another moment that should have proved humorous to any intelligent listener was provided by Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas when he asked of Christy,

You ever feel like Galileo? You remember Galileo? The overwhelming amount of science was against Galileo, and the other side of this got money from the Church, they got money from the government from their research opposing Galileo, and yet Galileo was right.

As any historian knows, the scientific observations and facts where, in fact, on Galileo’s side while the other side only had power and money. So why would Christy, whose side only has power and money, feel like Galileo?

For a more thorough analysis of Christy’s flawed congressional testimony see http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2015/may/21/congress-manufactures-doubt-and-denial-in-climate-change-hearing

In conclusion, no, I don’t think I give the Republicans too little credit for smarts when it comes to the subject of climate change. The saddest fact is that these scientific nitwits have power.  They control both houses of congress.