It is no secret really that conservatives and the religious right hold a very dim view of science in general and climate change science in particular. They prefer to hold to the beliefs that God, in his infinite wisdom and power, will make everything all right in the world. So, their view is, not to worry, everything is going to be alright.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s phones have been ringing off the hook — literally — since he questioned the link between human activity and climate change.
The calls to Pruitt’s main line, 202-564-4700, reached such a high volume by Friday that agency officials created an impromptu call center, according to three agency employees. The officials asked for anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
By Saturday morning calls went straight to voice mail, which was full and did not accept messages. At least two calls received the message that the line was disconnected, but that appeared to be in error.
Before the number was disabled, interns were dispatched to answer some of the incoming calls, according to one employee. At times, calls to that number ended up going to voice mail.
EPA did not respond Friday to a request for comment.
While constituents sometimes call lawmakers in large numbers to express outrage over contentious policy issues, it is unusual for Americans to target a Cabinet official.
Pruitt’s comments on the CNBC program “Squawk Box” — that “we need to continue the debate and continue the review and the analysis” over climate change — prompted an immediate pushback from many scientists and environment groups.
“I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do, and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” Pruitt said.
The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that it is “extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century” — a position reiterated on EPA’s own website.
On Friday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose at a record pace for the second straight year, reaching 401.5 parts per million. The two-year surge in carbon concentrations that took place in 2015 and 2016 has no precedent in the 59 years in which the agency has been tracking the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. {Full Story Continues}
It’s pretty obvious that President Bannon appointed as heads of vital cabinet post people who are opposed to the very agencies they head: See Pruitt, deVos, Perry, for example. It’s Bannon’s way of destroying the state that he detests and fundamentally changing America. My opinion is that Trump doesn’t know enough about our government to be able to achieve its destruction as well as Bannon does.
You are likely correct. Trump made a lot of money but he really isn’t the brightest bulb on the self. He undoubtedly had good attorneys and other unscrupulous individuals working for his companies. Bannon is much smarter and shrewder than Trump and as long as Bannon continues to stroke Trump’s YUUUUUGE ego he will carry a lot of weight in the administration.