January 30, 2016 6:18 AM

The Senate said it. I believe it. That settles it. Except when it doesn't.

WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, days after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2014 the hottest year ever recorded on Earth. The Republican-controlled Senate defeated a measure Wednesday stating that climate change is real and that human activity significantly contributes to it…. The Senate voted 50-49 on the measure, which required 60 votes in order to pass…. “Only in the halls of Congress is this a controversial piece of legislation,” Schatz said. The chairman of the environment committee, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., is an enthusiastic denier of climate change, saying it is the “biggest hoax” perpetrated against mankind…. “The hoax is there are some people so arrogant to think they are so powerful they can change the climate,” Inhofe said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “Man can’t change the climate.”

Science can be SO inconvenient sometimes, right? All those facts and empirical data can really mess up a narrative. It can be exceedingly difficult to advance your agenda when the available facts just don’t break in your favor. When it comes to climate change and your commitment to denying it, you have only 3% of climate scientists on your side. So what’s a committed ideologue to do in order to perpetuate the dominant narrative?

No worries, mate. All you need to do is ask the U.S. Senate (that noted chamber of [not exactly] climate experts) to pass a resolution declaring that climate change isn’t caused by human activity. To support that definitive statement, it can also be helpful to have prominent Republicans discounting man-made climate change by relying on the “I’m not a scientist” talking point.

As with any pressing problem, it’s so much easier when you can ignore it and be convinced it will go away. If you admit a problem exists, you implicitly take on responsibility fro solving it. By sticking to the “I’m not a scientist” talking point, you alleviate the need to formulate a plan and take action.

So what if Rome burns while you’re fiddling? “I’m not a scientist” means you won’t have to accept being held accountable for refusing to take action…’cuz that’s for scientists, right?? 2014 and 2015 may have been the two hottest years on record, but “I’m not a scientist”….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 30, 2016 6:18 AM.

You broke it, you can fix it was the previous entry in this blog.

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