The warnings from the science community on climate change and what must be done to stop its progress are ominous and dire. With a U.S. president who can’t manage to understand the difference between weather and climate, it’s difficult to imagine the country making any progress on being a global leader for change.
.@LindseyGraham: Climate change is real, the science is sound and the solutions are available….If I told Trump that Mueller thinks climate change is a hoax, we'd be well on our way." https://t.co/JO3o2m5Ba2 via @DallasBizNews
— Elvina Nawaguna (@elvina_nawaguna) April 26, 2019
Longtime South Carolina lawmaker and recent Trump sycophant Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) spoke at a sustainability event on Friday and joked that Trump will not be convinced on climate change unless it became politically expedient for him to do so. His joke will not likely be received well by the thin-skinned Trump, but Graham got a laugh from the crowd.
The Dallas Business Journal reports that Graham said:
‘Climate change is real, the science is sound and the solutions are available…If I told Trump that Mueller thinks climate change is a hoax, we’d be well on our way.’
More from @LindseyGrahamSC on climate change, per @eenewsupdates, including plans to introduce a GOP "Green New Deal" alternative next year: "Let's just cross the Rubicon. Let's, as a party, say the Green New Deal sucks but climate change is real." https://t.co/uwqmpcCQwr
— Emma Dumain (@Emma_Dumain) April 26, 2019
Election season is well underway, as can be evidenced by the GOP’s sudden concern about climate change, prison reform, and common sense gun law reform. Graham has long supported the conclusion that climate change is real and man-made, but he doesn’t seem to be able to convince his fellow Republican lawmakers to do much about it.
‘If I were sick and 9 out of 10 doctors said, “You need to do something,” I would do it. Count me among those who believe in it.’
Be careful and try staying in your house. Large parts of the Country are suffering from tremendous amounts of snow and near record setting cold. Amazing how big this system is. Wouldn’t be bad to have a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming right now!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2019
Graham specifically said that the Green New Deal, meant to address the growing effects of climate change through legislation, was not the answer. He didn’t say that the proposals wouldn’t work, just that they weren’t politically expedient for Congress since they’ve worked so hard to downplay the threat. No proposal to address climate change has yet been introduced by Republicans in Congress.
‘This is a problem, like drinking. The first thing you gotta do is say greenhouse gas emissions are real and they are caused by C02 emissions. They trap heat. Can you [support] something that is the most practical plan? As Republicans, we’ve got to get the middle, too.’
Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license
