Energy Secretary Rick Perry told CNBC on Monday he does not believe carbon dioxide emissions from human activity are the main driver of climate change, joining the EPA administrator in casting doubt on the conclusion of some of the government's top scientists.
Years of Living Dangerously:
When asked whether he believed CO2 was the primary cause of climate change, Energy Secretary Rick Perry responded with a resounding NO. We've broken down his statement with a few corrections.
PERRY: "No, most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in."
RESPONSE: This answer is not only wrong, it is nonsensical. Warming ocean waters are an example of climate change, not a cause. The term "this environment that we live in" is so vague as to be meaningless, unless you are referring to the current political environment, in which case, spot on. 👏
PERRY: "The fact is this shouldn't be a debate about, 'Is the climate changing, is man having an effect on it?' Yeah, we are.
RESPONSE: This is completely right and contradicts what you said both before and afterward. This should have been your entire answer.
PERRY: The question should be just how much, and what are the policy changes that we need to make to effect that?"
RESPONSE: How much? A lot. As for policy suggestions, a good place to start would be re-entering the Paris Agreement, not repealing the Clean Power Plan, and establishing a national price on carbon.
By Tom DiChristopher
