Top House Democrats finally got their wish to hold the first hearings on global warming in six years Wednesday, but both committee hearings meandered into discussions of civil rights, race and apocalyptic warnings without much talk about science.
The House Committee on Natural Resources hearing started off with testimony from Govs. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, a Democrat, and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, a Republican — both of whom support liberal climate policies.
During that time, Utah Rep. Rob Bishop questioned whether or not the climate hearing broke committee rules. Bishop, the committee’s ranking Republican, also wondered why the committee held a hearing on an issue outside its jurisdiction.
“Are these hearings simply for those of us around the horseshoe who are going to make legislation, or are these hearings designed for that group sitting at a table in the corner so they can write cute stories?” Bishop asked, pointing to where reporters sat in the hearing room.
The committee chairman, Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, responded that global warming “significance and consequences over all our jurisdictions.”
Bishop said he wanted a hearing “focused on solutions and not just empty rhetoric and fear mongering.” So, of course, the next panel of witnesses was stacked with activists making apocalyptic warnings.
“Climate change is a civil rights issue,” Reverend Lennox Yearwood, president of the Hip Hop Caucus, told lawmakers on the committee on Wednesday morning. Lennox also referred to tackling global warming as the “lunch counter moment for the 21st century.”
Yearwood also warned the U.S. does “not make it beyond 12 years from now without huge amounts of death, destruction, and suffering” unless Congress addressed global warming, according to his prepared remarks.
To hit the point home, Yearwood wore a hat with the words “12 Years” on it, which he placed in front of himself during the hearing.
Climate activist Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UPROSE, warned the Trump administration’s rolling back of Obama-era regulations is “very dangerous” and could bring about a “Day After Tomorrow” scenario, referencing the 2004 disaster film.
On the other side, Derrick Hollie, president of Reaching for America, argued that poor, minority communities could ill afford to eliminate fossil fuels as Yearwood and Yeampierre championed.
“We don’t have the luxury to pay more for green technologies, we need access to affordable energy to help heat our homes, power our stoves, and get back and forth to work,” Hollie said, speaking about the black community.
New Mexico Democratic Rep. Debra Haaland broke into tears when speaking to one of hearing witnesses — a 16-year-old environmental activist. Haaland said, “I just want to recognize your presence here.”
Nadia Nazar, the 16-year-old founder of the Zero Hour Movement, said the Trump administration’s inaction on “climate change is violating my right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” according to her prepared remarks.
Climatologist Judith Curry, one of two scientists invited to testify, cautioned against alarmism. Curry pointed out that while there are some sensible climate policies, there’s still much we don’t understand about the climate system.
“We need to avoid the hubris of thinking that we can predict what the future climate will do and that we can actually control the climate,” Curry said during the hearing.
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce held a separate global warming hearing Wednesday. Democratic Chairman Frank Pallone of New Jersey opened the hearing and said, “We must act now to avoid the most catastrophic consequences” of warming.
Reverend Leo Woodberry of the Kingdom Living Temple Church warned, “We have less than 12 years to get on a serious path” to cut greenhouse gas emissions or else “there will be little that we can do in the foreseeable future.”
Woodberry championed “environmental justice” in his testimony — the concept that poor, minority communities are harder hit by environmental problems and global warming. Democrats on the committee seemed to embrace that message.
“When I think of climate change, I don’t think in terms of green. I think in terms of black and brown,” California Democratic Rep. Nanette Barragan said during the Energy and Commerce hearing.
Brenda Ekwurzel, the climate science director at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said at least 21 people, including two university students, killed during the recent “polar vortex” was tied to global warming, despite the fact there’s scant evidence to back that theory up and disagreement among scientists.
“This deadly cold snap is just the most recent example of the changing nature of extreme events that scientists are studying,” Ekwurzel said, according to her prepared remarks.
“Anyone hoping that Congressional climate hearings will be more constructive in 2019 should be disappointed with this one,” University of Colorado professor Roger Pielke, Jr. tweeted of the climate hearings.
“Climate theater continues, and both parties seem to like it that way,” Pielke said.
All that mindless braying all those liberal Democrats getting together to plan for Taxes and Regulations over something that only appeasrs in the minds Liberal Crack-pots like Al Gore,Leonardo DiCaprio,Laurie David,and all those nit-wits from Greenpeace,PETA,EDF ,Friends of the Earth and the rest of the Eco-Wacko Green Nuts
It’s great that Judith Curry was one of the two climatologists on the extensive witness list invited to testify (the other was Kim Cobb). The above quote from Curry is precious.
“We need to avoid the hubris of thinking that we can predict what the future climate will do and that we can actually control the climate,” Curry said.
Curry’s advice, unfortunately, is not grabbing headlines. Common sense is profanity to many on the Left.
President Trump was right, Americans did get tired of winning. The Losers got their clown car back on the road.
UnfortunatelyJudith Curry’s statement “We need to avoid the hubris of thinking that we can predict what the future climate will do and that we can actually control the climate,” will not make the headlines in any of the national media – printed or televised news.
We need a better system of informing the public of the hubris being forced upon us by ignorant politically motivated climate nonsense.
All this fuss, and there is no scientific paper that convincingly shows that 20th century warming was caused by the use of fossil fuels.
Tom Steyer and Al Gore are conversing in an anteroom next to the hearing.
Tom: I’m willing to keep funding our movement because I can make a helluva lot of money from new regs and laws.
Al: If we can’t scare the public into believing all the doom and gloom we have a problem…
Tom: Yeah, we gotta hurry and get the Green New Deal rolling. The sun is going quiet and it’s going to cool–Man, going totally green will let us claim credit!!
Al: Who’ll be the first climate trillionaire? You or Me? I love the power!!!
To rely on the poor long-term memory of their constituents may be a poor political maneuvre. Reminding everyone of the already failed predictions of doom would be a good start. Next, ask for the exact, scientific relationship that allows weather to be controlled by the reduction of CO2. Lastly, remind people that every dollar spent unwisely today, on hare-brained mitigation schemes, will only enrich the subsidy-seekers and will impoverish and imperil all future generations.