This is one of the greatest/saddest highlight reels I’ve ever seen from a U.S. government hearing on climate change. Last week, the Committee on National Resources got experts and politicians together to explore whether climate change and carbon emissions should be considered “environmental impacts” in federal projects.
Captured here are about 10 minutes of meandering and bizarre comments — mostly from Republican politicians and their “experts” — about why we shouldn’t have to worry about the environmental impact of climate change when funding a new infrastructure project. My favourite bit is when Texas congressman Louis Gohmert starts randomly talking about Galileo (“You remember Galileo?” he asks) and compares the one lonely climate change denying scientist in the room to Galileo. Then he suggests that scientists who believe in climate change are getting tons of money from the government, and compares them to the church that destroyed Galileo’s career. That is some great logic, right there.
Over at the Guardian, Dana Nuccitelli has a great article summing up this hearing, and explaining how Republicans come up with these arguments — as well as the science that proves them wrong.