Watch a US Senator Cite the Bible to 'Prove' That Humans Aren't Causing Global Warming

[n2doc]

To understand the craziness that just went down on the floor of the US Senate, you first have to understand the overwhelming scientific consensus on climate change. It's pretty simple, actually: The planet is getting warmer, largely because humans are releasing heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide. Or, as the world's leading climate scientists put it in a recent report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," and it's "extremely likely"—that is, at least 95 percent certain—"that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century."

These are well established scientific facts, but congressional Republicans have had a hard time accepting them. So on Wednesday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), sought to put his colleagues on record by having them vote on a simple measure declaring it the sense of the Senate that "climate change is real and not a hoax."

When Whitehouse first introduced this amendment a couple days ago, he made clear that by "climate change," he was referring to "what our carbon pollution…is doing to our atmosphere and what it is doing to our oceans." But the amendment didn't literally say that, and the Senate's most outspoken climate science denier saw this as an opportunity. James Inhofe—an Oklahoma Republican who has previously pointed to the Bible as evidence that human-caused global warming is a hoax—urged his fellow senators to support the amendment.

Addressing his Senate colleagues before the vote, Inhofe once again cited the Bible to argue that the climate does indeed change but that humans aren't the cause. "Climate is changing, and climate has always changed," said Inhofe, who chairs the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee. "There's archeological evidence of that. There's biblical evidence of that. There's historic evidence of that." He continued: "The hoax is that there are some people who are so arrogant to think that they are so powerful, they can change climate. Man can't change climate." You can watch the back-and-forth above.

more, with video
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/01/inhofe-climate-change-bible

[Fred Sanders]

1. The entire GOP is clearly a hoax. The party of "let's just pretend" issues and solutions.

[pacalo]

10. I think the new version of the reckless, irresponsible McCarthy era is happening.

[ck4829]

2. Such arrogant people, next thing you know, they'll be thinking they can eradicate smallpox and dodos

[Tobin S.]

3. It's hard to believe that we have people like that in major leadership positions

in this country. Of course, it should also be noted that Oklahoma doesn't have any ocean shore lines. What an asshole.

[SheilaT]

4. What's so frustrating is that

anyone would ever use the Bible as a source of science fact.

Yeah, the climate changes. I've read any number of interesting books about that. But what's going on right now is unlike earlier climate changes, because humans are hugely responsible for the run-up in temperature.

Also, yesterday I re-watched "The Arrival" which came out in 1996. While it is purely fiction, it's quite good. And yes, it relates to climate change and how it has come about, for those of you who haven't seen it.

[mountain grammy]

5. and half the Senate agrees with him.. The Senate is a hoax..

including my new guy.

[tclambert]

6. So it's not cows? I thought it might be cows.

You know, cow farts contain a lot of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas.

I thought they might claim it was the Sun, but scientists say the Sun only accounts for maybe up to 10% of the observed warming. I'm so, so glad someone as wise as Sen. Inhofe explained the true explanation--God.

[Major Nikon]

7. The best way to prove idiocy is to give an idiot a microphone

[MisterP]

8. of course there's a word for this!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisegesis

[pacalo]

9. Imposing his own interpretation into the decision-making.