In another Friday dump, Team Trump’s choice for NASA:Representative Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), a true climate zombie. Here is material from his statement that called on President Obama to cut climate science funding to move it to weather research.
global temperatures stopped rising 10 years ago.
False.
This is such classic twisted denial that Skeptical Science created the “escalator” gif to provide context.
Global temperature changes, when they exist, correlate with Sun output and ocean cycles.
Okay, I’m lazy. I’ll stick with Skeptical Science and climate science denial by the numbers. This is filled with multiple misnomers and misleading games.. First, while there are throughout geologic history, portions of the temperature records that “correlate with Sun output and ocean cycles”, this is a path toward misleading: no climate scientist asserts that natural change and natural cycles don’t exist, we are concerned about humanity’s ‘thumb’ on the scale. Right now, as we are seeing ever hotter global temperatures, Bridenstine’s ‘it’s the sun’ (Denialist item #3) is simply false as “the sun’s energy has decreased since the 1980s but the Earth keeps warming fasterthan before.”
During the Medieval Warm Period from 800 to 1300 A.D.—long before cars, power plants, or the Industrial Revolution—temperatures were warmer than today.
Denialist point #27: “”Medieval Warm Period was warmer” when, actually, “globally averaged temperatures are higher now than in medieval times”.
During the Little Ice Age from 1300 to 1900 A.D., temperatures were cooler.
Sigh, #47. “The main drivers of the Little Ice Age cooling were decreased solar activity and increased volcanic activity. These factors cannot account for the global warming observed over the past 50-100 years. Furthermore, it is physically incorrect to state that the planet is simply “recovering” from the Little Ice Age.”
Neither of these periods were caused by any human activity
Okay, not going to address that because this is sort of misdirection since the points he is referring to are falsehoods. However, something to consider, there is scientific work (papers, studies) suggesting human impacts on the climate going back 10,000 years or more. (Not expert at this, but here is somewhere to start.)
If you’re visual and just ach to see Bridenstine’s climate science denial in action,
There is so much clear on his #science denial. See https://www.ofa.us/climate-change-deniers/jim-bridenstine-oklahoma/ … for his clearly ‘contrarian’ view: pic.twitter.com/bDvsAF4Hen
Here is #Bridenstine promoting #climate#science denial on the House floor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcsAFnwC7k … He also lies about funding lines.
Trump doesn’t do things cuz they are hard.He does them cuz they are stupid:Anti-Science Hack will Ru(i)n NASA
Notes:
- Joe Romm: Trump names climate science denier to run NASA
- “Bridenstine is a politician without any scientific credentials, unlike previous NASA chiefs, and for that reason his nomination has already been criticized by both Florida’s senators Marco Rubio (R) and Bill Nelson (D),”
- Climate Hawks Vote has an action page up. Recommend you add your voice to this.
- As per tweets above, there is already twitter interaction. Here are two (A and B) threads where I react to someone who strives to look past Bridenstine’s science denial.