SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Representative Ryan Zinke (R-MT) on Tuesday testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his nomination to be Interior secretary in the Trump administration. (Image: C-SPAN)
'Actually, There Is Not a Lot of Debate': Sanders Forced to Correct Trump Nominee on Climate Science
'The scientific community is virtually unanimous that climate change is real and causing devastating problems.'
Jan 17, 2017
Sitting before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke from Montana, was challenged by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on his beliefs regarding climate change and questioned about what, if anything, he would do to protect federal lands from drilling and corporate exploitation.
In his first question, Sanders asked Zinke if Trump is correct when he posits that climate change is a "hoax."
Zinke responded by saying that while he does not believe climate change is a hoax, he qualified that statement by saying he was "not a climate scientist expert"; that he "didn't know definitively" about how much human activity is causing climate change or what can be done about it; and that there remained "a lot of debate on both side of the aisle" on such questions.
"Actually," Sanders interjected, "there's not a lot of debate. The scientific community is virtually unanimous that climate change is real and causing devastating problems."
Sanders looked around at some of his Republican colleagues before adding, "There is a debate on this committee, but not within the scientific community."
Watch the exchange:
On his next question, Sanders asked if Zinke believes drilling for fossil fuels should be allowed on federal lands, an issue which has become a hot button for environmentalists who say that all such activity must be halted if the U.S. is to meet emission reductions in accord with the international climate treaty that was signed last year by President Obama.
"I'm an all-of-the-above energy guy," Zinke responded. Asked if would support wind and solar on public lands, Zinke began his answer, "I would..." but then quickly transitioned to, "all of the above. I think that's the better solution going forward: all-of-the-above energy."
However--and even Obama was also widely and repeatedly criticized on this point--an "all-of-the-above strategy" is regarded by climate experts and renewable energy advocates as a coded refusal to ditch fossil fuels once and for all.
As Zinke's testimony continued, the Center for Biological Diversity released a statement saying that Zinke would be a "disaster" for the nation's public lands, and the animals and people that depend on them.
"Zinke champions turning control of public lands over to states and private interests to greatly increase logging, livestock grazing, mining and oil and gas drilling while significantly reducing environmental protections and public input," said CBD executive director Kieran Suckling. "Under such a scheme, the federal government, taxpayers and wildlife would bear the costs through nominal retention of land title."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sitting before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke from Montana, was challenged by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on his beliefs regarding climate change and questioned about what, if anything, he would do to protect federal lands from drilling and corporate exploitation.
In his first question, Sanders asked Zinke if Trump is correct when he posits that climate change is a "hoax."
Zinke responded by saying that while he does not believe climate change is a hoax, he qualified that statement by saying he was "not a climate scientist expert"; that he "didn't know definitively" about how much human activity is causing climate change or what can be done about it; and that there remained "a lot of debate on both side of the aisle" on such questions.
"Actually," Sanders interjected, "there's not a lot of debate. The scientific community is virtually unanimous that climate change is real and causing devastating problems."
Sanders looked around at some of his Republican colleagues before adding, "There is a debate on this committee, but not within the scientific community."
Watch the exchange:
On his next question, Sanders asked if Zinke believes drilling for fossil fuels should be allowed on federal lands, an issue which has become a hot button for environmentalists who say that all such activity must be halted if the U.S. is to meet emission reductions in accord with the international climate treaty that was signed last year by President Obama.
"I'm an all-of-the-above energy guy," Zinke responded. Asked if would support wind and solar on public lands, Zinke began his answer, "I would..." but then quickly transitioned to, "all of the above. I think that's the better solution going forward: all-of-the-above energy."
However--and even Obama was also widely and repeatedly criticized on this point--an "all-of-the-above strategy" is regarded by climate experts and renewable energy advocates as a coded refusal to ditch fossil fuels once and for all.
As Zinke's testimony continued, the Center for Biological Diversity released a statement saying that Zinke would be a "disaster" for the nation's public lands, and the animals and people that depend on them.
"Zinke champions turning control of public lands over to states and private interests to greatly increase logging, livestock grazing, mining and oil and gas drilling while significantly reducing environmental protections and public input," said CBD executive director Kieran Suckling. "Under such a scheme, the federal government, taxpayers and wildlife would bear the costs through nominal retention of land title."
Sitting before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Interior, Republican Congressman Ryan Zinke from Montana, was challenged by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on his beliefs regarding climate change and questioned about what, if anything, he would do to protect federal lands from drilling and corporate exploitation.
In his first question, Sanders asked Zinke if Trump is correct when he posits that climate change is a "hoax."
Zinke responded by saying that while he does not believe climate change is a hoax, he qualified that statement by saying he was "not a climate scientist expert"; that he "didn't know definitively" about how much human activity is causing climate change or what can be done about it; and that there remained "a lot of debate on both side of the aisle" on such questions.
"Actually," Sanders interjected, "there's not a lot of debate. The scientific community is virtually unanimous that climate change is real and causing devastating problems."
Sanders looked around at some of his Republican colleagues before adding, "There is a debate on this committee, but not within the scientific community."
Watch the exchange:
On his next question, Sanders asked if Zinke believes drilling for fossil fuels should be allowed on federal lands, an issue which has become a hot button for environmentalists who say that all such activity must be halted if the U.S. is to meet emission reductions in accord with the international climate treaty that was signed last year by President Obama.
"I'm an all-of-the-above energy guy," Zinke responded. Asked if would support wind and solar on public lands, Zinke began his answer, "I would..." but then quickly transitioned to, "all of the above. I think that's the better solution going forward: all-of-the-above energy."
However--and even Obama was also widely and repeatedly criticized on this point--an "all-of-the-above strategy" is regarded by climate experts and renewable energy advocates as a coded refusal to ditch fossil fuels once and for all.
As Zinke's testimony continued, the Center for Biological Diversity released a statement saying that Zinke would be a "disaster" for the nation's public lands, and the animals and people that depend on them.
"Zinke champions turning control of public lands over to states and private interests to greatly increase logging, livestock grazing, mining and oil and gas drilling while significantly reducing environmental protections and public input," said CBD executive director Kieran Suckling. "Under such a scheme, the federal government, taxpayers and wildlife would bear the costs through nominal retention of land title."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.