Rick Perry has spent a week muddying the science behind climate change, and when he was pressed by Sen. Al Franken on come climate change facts during a budget hearing this Thursday, things got a little bit heated.
Franken reminded Perry the scientific consensus is that global warming is man-made, to which Perry responded, “I don’t believe it,” and “I don’t buy it,” even making the bold proclamation that to “stand up and say that 100 percent of global warming is because of human activity, I think on its face, is just indefensible.”
From ThinkProgress:
What is indefensible is that the U.S. Secretary of Energy continues to reject established climate science and remain completely impervious to facts — which was made all too clear by a review of this week’s events.
Monday on CNBC, Perry falsely claimed that carbon dioxide was not the primary cause of recent global warming, along with a bunch of other nonsense. He also defended his right to be a “skeptic.”
On Wednesday, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) wrote Perry a letter informing him that he was simply wrong. The central role of greenhouse gases — of which CO2 is the “most important” — is “based on multiple independent lines of evidence that have been affirmed by thousands of independent scientists and numerous scientific institutions around the world,” the letter read.
During Thursday’s hearing, Franken asked Perry explain he reasoning behind denying the role of CO2 in climate change. Perry responded, “What’s wrong with being a skeptic?”
Watch the full exchange below:
Featured image via screen grab
