The War on Science is a very real thing Republicans are engaging in. Oh don’t get me wrong, the left also has a problem with science denial when it comes to issues like biotechnology and medicine, or believing in some loopy conspiracy stuff. However, you aren’t likely to see liberal politicians come out and openly deny scientific consensus in the way Ted Cruz and others have when it comes to climate change or other environmental issues.
The media also does a fine job of denying science. For example, Fox News likes to pretend that since it’s cold where they are, climate change doesn’t exist and it’s all a liberal hoax designed to force people to drive hybrids and destroy the economy. Other media sources just skip over the denialism and goes straight to mostly ignoring it – and MSNBC has been guilty of this as well.
However, in the wake of the 2014 mid-term elections, Republicans now control both the House and the Senate and this means the Republican War on Science is about to get even uglier. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the committee chairs the Republican Steering Committee recommended for the 114th Congress. Notice all of the diversity that represents the changing demographics of the United States and the scientific knowledge they brought to tackle the tough issues facing our country? Oh wait, almost every single recommendation is a middle-aged white male, with little to no expertise in the area they’re supposed to be overseeing – unless you count Paul Ryan’s experience in writing unworkable budgets.
So now we have people who believe that since it’s cold in whatever location they’re at, climate change doesn’t exist, even if temperatures are above average in the very place our current blasts of Arctic air came from. In fact, October may very well have been the warmest October ever recorded – but it’s OK since Jesus is coming back any day now.
Indeed, much evidence suggests that we may be experiencing this stark cold while en route to the warmest year in recorded history. Just recently we learned that at least according to data from the Japan Meteorological Agency (which may soon be confirmed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), October 2014 on a global level was the hottest October on record. And even before we knew what October’s temperatures looked like, NOAA had shown that there was a very good chance of 2014 setting an overall temperature record. (Source)
Thanks to the apathetic left who failed to show up at the polls a couple of weeks ago, we’re now cursed with climate change deniers controlling both houses of Congress. They’ve also passed a bill making it harder for the EPA to make regulations which don’t jump through all of the hoops the new Congress sets up. Is that part of the War on Science? You betcha. Want to hear something even more scary? The majority of Americans don’t see climate change as an issue, and it gets worse – all of the assumed Republican presidential candidates in 2016 refuse to acknowledge the problem.
The Republicans basically fall into four categories: (1) Flat-Earthers, who deny the existence of manmade climate change; (2) Born-Again Flat-Earthers, who do the same, but who had admitted climate change exists back before President Obama took office; (3) Do-Nothings, who sort of admit the reality of climate change but oppose actually taking any steps to prevent it; and (4) Dodgers, who have avoided saying whether they believe climate change is happening, and who also don’t want to take any steps to alleviate it. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker fall into the latter category. The Do-Nothings are blue and purple state governors, Chris Christie of New Jersey and John Kasich of Ohio. In a sign of how far rightward Republicans have moved since 2008, these are actually the guys who are trying to position themselves as relatively moderate and pragmatic. The Born-Agains are Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Both are staunch conservatives but only partial wingnuts. Back when that meant believing in climate change, they did, but they have since followed their base into fantasyland. Everyone else is an outright denier and always has been. (Source)
No wonder we’re often the laughing stock of the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment