Warmists Freak Out Over EPA Chief’s Skepticism: ‘Outed himself as a pure climate denier’ – ‘Unqualified…extreme…irresponsible’

Scott Pruitt

EPA chief Scott Pruitt says carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to global warming  

Scientists, environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers quickly denounced EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt after he said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that carbon dioxide is not a primary contributor to climate change.

“I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do, and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see,” he said.

Sen. Tom Carper, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, tweeted about the comment, “I think 97% of the world’s scientists were surprised to learn this today! I know I was.”

With his latest comment, Pruitt’s mask has come off, said David Doniger, director of the Climate & Clean Air Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

“After obscuring his true views during his Senate confirmation hearings, Scott Pruitt has outed himself as a pure climate denier,” he said. “Having an EPA administrator who claims carbon pollution is not the primary cause of climate change is like having a U.S. surgeon general who says smoking is not the primary cause of lung cancer.”

Pruitt’s comment on Thursday is “nothing short of an atrocity,” said Aura Vasquez, director of Climate Justice at the Center for Popular Democracy, a group that aims to build organizing power at the state and local level.

“Denying the science of this reality will impact millions of people on the front lines of a dangerously changing climate, especially low-income communities and communities of color,” she said.

Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, co-chair of the Senate Climate Action Task Force issued a statement shortly after the interview calling Pruitt’s views “extreme” and “irresponsible.”

“Anyone who denies over a century’s worth of established science and basic facts is unqualified to be the administrator of the EPA. Now more than ever, the Senate needs to stand up to Scott Pruitt and his dangerous views,” he said in a statement.

 

Share: