Grijalva on New Study Showing No Global Warming Pause: “We Need to Acknowledge That GOP Science Denial Has Hit New Heights”
Washington, D.C. - Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva released the following statement on the publication of a new study by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researchers in the journal Science showing that, contrary to Republican claims, global warming has not slowed over the past 15 years.
“The Republican Party’s war on science – especially its pathological denial of climate change – risks tremendous damage to our environment, our public health and our economy. Americans of every political persuasion believe we need to take stronger action on climate change, but some of my colleagues refuse to listen and the country has suffered as a result. Now we learn that, as many climate scientists have been saying all along, the much-hyped ‘pause’ in global warming rates over the past 15 years was a complete myth. The need for clean energy sources, strict carbon and methane emission standards, and a price on carbon is even stronger now than it was when Republicans first decided they would fight them tooth and nail.
“The larger issue raised by this report is Republicans’ continued denial of the importance of science as a driver of good policy. As the Washington Post recently reported in a piece headlined, ‘If you don’t like the answer, question the science,’ Republicans have taken their denial of science’s basic validity to new heights – a phenomenon that deserves more coverage and scrutiny by the mainstream as well as scientific media. Treating climate denial as old news not worthy of continued coverage does a tremendous disservice to the public and to our environment. Allowing the House and Senate majorities to pretend that global warming isn’t occurring, or that it magically stopped 15 years ago, despite evidence to the contrary, is not in the public interest. This pretense and Republicans’ habit of denigrating science and scientists whose findings don’t support their political opinions are hallmarks of irresponsible governance. They need to be publicly identified as such.”
The study is available at http://bit.ly/1BMyUNq, and the NOAA announcement is available at http://1.usa.gov/1JoSgjG. A NOAA graphic highlighting the trend is available below.
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