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Given the lack of understanding of basic climate science Scott Pruitt displayed on a recent appearance on CNBC, 33 House Democrats have sent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head educational materials to help him get a grip on established facts.
Speaking last week to the network's "Squawk Box," Pruitt sparked the ire of climate groups--and contradicted his own statements to the U.S. Senate--when he said, "I would not agree that [carbon dioxide] is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see."
"As Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt must understand these non-controversial concepts," a press statement from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) states.
Blumenauer, along with 32 of his House colleagues including Reps. Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) sent to Pruitt a brief letter as well as a copy of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Climate Literacy Guide, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis report, and highlights from the latest U.S. National Climate Assessment.
"It's clear that you need to read the enclosed reports," they write.
From the Climate Literacy Guide (which is "for learners of all ages"), Pruitt could read that "burning fossil fuels, releasing chemicals into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of forest cover, and rapid expansion of farming, development, and industrial activities are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and changing the balance of the climate system."
"Human-induced climate change is projected to continue, and it will accelerate significantly if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to increase," the U.S. National Climate Assessment states.
Following his statements contradicting scientific evidence, Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said, "As Pruitt testified before Congress, it is the legal duty of the EPA to tackle the carbon pollution that fuels the climate crisis, but now he is spewing corporate polluter talking points rather than fulfilling the EPA's mission of protecting our air, our water, and our communities."
"Pruitt is endangering our families, and any sensible Senator should demand he is removed from his position immediately for misleading Congress and being unfit and unwilling to do the job he has been entrusted to do," he said.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Given the lack of understanding of basic climate science Scott Pruitt displayed on a recent appearance on CNBC, 33 House Democrats have sent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head educational materials to help him get a grip on established facts.
Speaking last week to the network's "Squawk Box," Pruitt sparked the ire of climate groups--and contradicted his own statements to the U.S. Senate--when he said, "I would not agree that [carbon dioxide] is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see."
"As Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt must understand these non-controversial concepts," a press statement from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) states.
Blumenauer, along with 32 of his House colleagues including Reps. Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) sent to Pruitt a brief letter as well as a copy of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Climate Literacy Guide, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis report, and highlights from the latest U.S. National Climate Assessment.
"It's clear that you need to read the enclosed reports," they write.
From the Climate Literacy Guide (which is "for learners of all ages"), Pruitt could read that "burning fossil fuels, releasing chemicals into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of forest cover, and rapid expansion of farming, development, and industrial activities are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and changing the balance of the climate system."
"Human-induced climate change is projected to continue, and it will accelerate significantly if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to increase," the U.S. National Climate Assessment states.
Following his statements contradicting scientific evidence, Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said, "As Pruitt testified before Congress, it is the legal duty of the EPA to tackle the carbon pollution that fuels the climate crisis, but now he is spewing corporate polluter talking points rather than fulfilling the EPA's mission of protecting our air, our water, and our communities."
"Pruitt is endangering our families, and any sensible Senator should demand he is removed from his position immediately for misleading Congress and being unfit and unwilling to do the job he has been entrusted to do," he said.
Given the lack of understanding of basic climate science Scott Pruitt displayed on a recent appearance on CNBC, 33 House Democrats have sent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) head educational materials to help him get a grip on established facts.
Speaking last week to the network's "Squawk Box," Pruitt sparked the ire of climate groups--and contradicted his own statements to the U.S. Senate--when he said, "I would not agree that [carbon dioxide] is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see."
"As Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt must understand these non-controversial concepts," a press statement from Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.) states.
Blumenauer, along with 32 of his House colleagues including Reps. Raul Grijalva (Ariz.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) sent to Pruitt a brief letter as well as a copy of the U.S. Global Change Research Program's Climate Literacy Guide, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis report, and highlights from the latest U.S. National Climate Assessment.
"It's clear that you need to read the enclosed reports," they write.
From the Climate Literacy Guide (which is "for learners of all ages"), Pruitt could read that "burning fossil fuels, releasing chemicals into the atmosphere, reducing the amount of forest cover, and rapid expansion of farming, development, and industrial activities are releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and changing the balance of the climate system."
"Human-induced climate change is projected to continue, and it will accelerate significantly if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue to increase," the U.S. National Climate Assessment states.
Following his statements contradicting scientific evidence, Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said, "As Pruitt testified before Congress, it is the legal duty of the EPA to tackle the carbon pollution that fuels the climate crisis, but now he is spewing corporate polluter talking points rather than fulfilling the EPA's mission of protecting our air, our water, and our communities."
"Pruitt is endangering our families, and any sensible Senator should demand he is removed from his position immediately for misleading Congress and being unfit and unwilling to do the job he has been entrusted to do," he said.