ANTI-SCIENCE CLIMATE DENIER CAUCUS

Climate change is happening, and humans are the cause. But a shocking number of congressional Republicans—more than 55 percent—refuse to accept it.

One hundred and fifty-seven elected representatives from the 113th Congress have taken more than $51 million from the fossil-fuel industry, which is the driving force behind the carbon emissions that cause climate change. These representatives deny what more than 97 percent of climate scientists say is happening: Current human activity creates the greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat within the atmosphere and cause climate change.

And their constituents are paying the price, with Americans across the nation suffering 368 climate-related national disaster declarations since 2011. There were 25 extreme weather events that each caused at least $1 billion in damage since 2011, including Superstorm Sandy and overwhelming drought that has covered almost the entire western half of the United States. Combined, these extreme weather events were responsible for 1,107 fatalities and up to $188 billion in economic damages.

Despite the overwhelming scientific consensus and high costs to taxpayers, California has eight resident deniers who have taken $980,995 in dirty energy contributions. The state has suffered an astounding 11 climate-related disaster declarations since 2011. In early June, the “Powerhouse” wildfire in northern Los Angeles County destroyed 53 structures, including 24 residences, and cost more than $11 million to fight. Below are quotes from six of California’s resident deniers who refuse to believe there is a problem to address:

Rep. (R-CA-10): “Some wouldn’t view them as skeptics. Some would view them as the right side of the issue. We don’t have complete factual information yet. From what I have seen the Earth has heated and cooled on its own for centuries. I don’t know that there’s anything that is a direct cause of that right now, but we can do a better job of cleaning up our planet.” [Mercury News, January 1, 2009]

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA-50): “Nobody really knows the cause. The earth cools, the earth warms. … It could be caused by carbon dioxide or methane. Maybe we should kill the cows to stop the methane, or stop breathing to stop the CO2. … Thousands of people die every year of cold, so if we had global warming it would save lives. … We ought to look out for people. The earth can take care of itself.” [East County Magazine, August 25, 2009]

Rep. (R-CA-49): “One of the difficulties in examining the issue of the climate change and greenhouse gases is that there is a wide range of scientific opinion on this issue and the science community does not agree to the extent of the problem or the critical threshold of when this problem is truly catastrophic.” [Project Vote Smart Issue Position, January 1, 2012]

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA-04): “We’re all told of course the debate is over and that all the scientists agree … and as all of you know, that is succinctly not the case.” [International Conference on Climate Change, May 9, 2009]

Rep. (R-CA-22): “However, scientists admit that they cannot be sure whether the Earth’s temperature is rising due to cyclical warming and cooling processes, or whether and how much humans are influencing it.” [Project Vote Smart Issue Position, January 1, 2012]

Rep. (R-CA-48): “Too often, when congress is asked to pass environmental legislation, the legislation is based on emotional junk science rather than data based on reproducable, rigorous, tested, peer-reviewed results. In no area has this been more obvious than climate change.” [Rep. Rohrabacher's website]