Conservative Senate Denies Anthropogenic Climate Change

When will matters of climate change and the environment revert back to bipartisan issues? After nearly 200 years of man-made CO2 pollution, three decades of scientific research, and evidence presented by NASA, NOAA, and scientists worldwide, the Senate is still not convinced. On Wednesday (01/20/16), after an almost unanimous vote (98-1) acknowledging the existence of climate change, conservative members of the Senate voted down two resolutions acknowledging anthropogenic causes as a catalyst of climate change. One amendment from Brian Schatz (D-HI), explicitly stated that, “…human activity significantly contributes to climate change.” He gained the support of only five republicans. Presidential hopefuls Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio voted against it. The resolution lost by 50-49. These “Sense of Senate” resolutions were introduced by Senate Democrats to show the true colors of Republican Senators’ ignorance to climate change. Republicans have rebutted with arguments like, “I am not a scientist,” and “Climate is changing and climate has always changed and always will…The hoax is that there are some people who are so arrogant to think they are so powerful they can change climate. Man can’t change climate” (James Inhofe, R-OK). Over ten years ago, in 2005, the Senate acknowledged human activity as a main contributor to climate change. It seems that for every step forward, the Senate takes two steps back. Sources: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/22/us-senate-man-climate-change-global-warming-hoax http://mashable.com/2015/01/13/senate-vote-manmade-global-warming/#B8cz84AKuiqZ Photo by Yoav Magid