Sierra Club and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo Spar in Twitter Debate on Climate Change
Because it flows frenetically, all day and every day, Twitter makes it easy to miss out on good exchanges.
And if you weren't on your laptop, phone or tablet around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, you definitely missed a good one.
Back-and-forth tweeting between the Sierra Club and U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) centered on climate change, but in a way that offered a little something for everybody. There was evidence of donations from the Koch Brothers; an accusation that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy was unable to answer one of Pompeo's climate questions; and a couple requests from Pompeo for others to "show me the data."
The Sierra Club responded with a mention of the common belief of 97 percent of climate scientists, followed by a rather sharp zinger: "... it's refreshing to see a Republican suddenly so interested in science."
The Twitter exchange embedded below speaks for itself, but notice that Pompeo never responded to one of the Sierra Club's early questions: "So you're saying that you agree with the science that says that climate change is real and caused by burning fossil fuels?"
.@repmikepompeo can't stand the @epa carbon standards. His top donors? Koch bros and the oil & gas industry: http://t.co/heJyqdMQYD
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub @EPA is proposing a costly policy. They refuse to show data supporting their claims. I'm focused on science and good policy here
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub @EPA claims it can fix climate change. I ask "How much?" "When?" Show me the data. Nothing. Instead it's all just politics.
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
.@RepMikePompeo @EPA So you're saying that you agree w/ the science that says that climate change is real & caused by burning fossil fuels?
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub If @EPA proposes costly policies that hurt American families, it has responsibility to provide the supporting data. They won't.
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub Motivations are immaterial to a policy discussion. Show science of how this specific policy impacts sea levels, or world temp.
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub When I asked Gina McCarthy of @EPA, she explained she couldn't measure that. But that it positioned us as a global leader.
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub If @EPA is serious about policymaking it should do things it can measure and impact, and that won't hurt American families.
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub I'm disappointed to see you keep attacking those who use empirical data in policy discussion. @EPA shouldn't be guesstimating.
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
.@RepMikePompeo Simple! Plan cuts carbon pollution from power plants = #1 cause of climate disruption = #1 cause of sea level rise
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) June 19, 2014
.@RepMikePompeo If you're looking for empirical data on climate science, which you deny, 97% of climate scientists can provide that for you.
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) June 19, 2014
.@RepMikePompeo On the other hand, it's refreshing to see a Republican suddenly so interested in science.
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) June 19, 2014
@sierraclub So how much sea level rise will we stop as a consequence of this plan? Show me data. Hard numbers. Or is that all guesswork?
— Mike Pompeo (@RepMikePompeo) June 19, 2014
.@RepMikePompeo Do you understand the hard numbers about carbon pollution leading to sea level rise?
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) June 19, 2014
California is bracing for rare January wildfires this week amid damaging Santa Ana winds coupled with unusually hot and dry winter weather.
High winds, gusting up to 80- to 90 miles per hour in some parts of the state, are expected to last through Wednesday evening. Nearly the entire state has been in a drought for months, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which, alongside summerlike temperatures, has left vegetation dry and flammable.
Utilities Southern California Edison and PG&E, which serves the central and northern portions of the state, warned it may preemptively shut off power to hundreds of thousands of customers to reduce the risk of electrical fires sparked by trees and branches falling on live power lines. The rare January fire conditions come on the heels of the worst wildfire season ever recorded in California, as climate change exacerbates the factors causing fires to be more frequent and severe.
California is also experiencing the most severe surge of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, with hospitals and ICUs over capacity and a stay-at-home order in place. Wildfire smoke can increase the risk of adverse health effects due to COVID, and evacuations forcing people to crowd into shelters could further spread the virus.
As reported by AccuWeather:
In the atmosphere, air flows from high to low pressure. The setup into Wednesday is like having two giant atmospheric fans working as a team with one pulling and the other pushing the air in the same direction.
Normally, mountains to the north and east of Los Angeles would protect the downtown which sits in a basin. However, with the assistance of the offshore storm, there will be areas of gusty winds even in the L.A. Basin. The winds may get strong enough in parts of the basin to break tree limbs and lead to sporadic power outages and sparks that could ignite fires.
"Typically, Santa Ana winds stay out of downtown Los Angeles and the L.A. Basin, but this time, conditions may set up just right to bring 30- to 40-mph wind gusts even in those typically calm condition areas," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.
For a deeper dive:
AP, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Weather Channel, AccuWeather, New York Times, Slideshow: New York Times; Climate Signals Background: Wildfires, 2020 Western wildfire season
For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, sign up for daily Hot News, and visit their news site, Nexus Media News.
- Bond Fire South of LA Forces 25,000 to Flee - EcoWatch ›
- 'Explosive' Southern California Lake Fire Spreads to 10,000 Acres ... ›
- 10 Wildfires Ignite Around Los Angeles in Unseasonable Wind and ... ›
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Jennifer Sass, Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, Dr. Philip J. Landrigan and Simon Strong
"Prevention is the cure for child/teen cancer." This is the welcoming statement on a website called 'TheReasonsWhy.Us', where families affected by childhood cancers can sign up for a landmark new study into the potential environmental causes.
Trending
Climate Crisis Will Shift Tropical Rain Belt and Create Food Insecurity for Billions, Study Finds
Nearly 1.6 million people in the southern part of Madagascar have faced food insecurity since 2016, experiencing one drought after another, the United Nations World Food Program reported.
- Half a Degree of Warming Makes a Big Difference to Global Food ... ›
- UN Warns of Impending Food Crisis - EcoWatch ›
- Global Hunger Is Increasing, New UN Report Finds - EcoWatch ›
President-elect Joe Biden is planning to cancel the controversial Keystone XL pipeline on the first day of his administration, a document reported by CBC on Sunday suggests.
- Construction Begins on Keystone XL Pipeline in Montana - EcoWatch ›
- Trump Approves Keystone XL Pipeline, Groups Vow 'The Fight Is ... ›
- Keystone XL Pipeline Construction to Forge Ahead During ... ›
By Monir Ghaedi
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep most of Europe on pause, the EU aims for a breakthrough in its space program. The continent is seeking more than just a self-sufficient space industry competitive with China and the U.S.; the industry must also fit into the European Green Deal.
European satellites continue to provide data on climate change.