In 50-49 vote, US Senate says climate change not caused by humans

WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, days after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2014 the hottest year ever recorded on Earth.

The Republican-controlled Senate defeated a measure Wednesday stating that climate change is real and that human activity significantly contributes to it. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, offered the measure as the Senate debated the Keystone XL pipeline, which would tap the carbon-intensive oil sands in the Canadian province of Alberta.

The Senate voted 50-49 on the measure, which required 60 votes in order to pass.

“Only in the halls of Congress is this a controversial piece of legislation,” Schatz said.

The chairman of the environment committee, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., is an enthusiastic denier of climate change, saying it is the “biggest hoax” perpetrated against mankind.

“The hoax is there are some people so arrogant to think they are so powerful they can change the climate,” Inhofe said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “Man can’t change the climate.”

Animavore wrote:The "man can't change the environment" argument is so monumentally stupid. A look at Google maps is all it takes to show that we can, and do, change the environmet. No other animal shows any evidence of their existence from 30,000 feet. Without humans on the planet, one might suspect a planet entirely populated by plant life without close examination.

NineBerry wrote:

Animavore wrote:The "man can't change the environment" argument is so monumentally stupid. A look at Google maps is all it takes to show that we can, and do, change the environmet. No other animal shows any evidence of their existence from 30,000 feet. Without humans on the planet, one might suspect a planet entirely populated by plant life without close examination.

Corals won't agree.

Arcanyn wrote:I love this notion that if they can convince people that humans didn't cause climate change, that this would somehow make it not a bad thing. I'm sure if a comet was discovered to be on collision course with Earth, everyone would just shrug their shoulders and say "oh, well, we didn't put it there, so there's no need to do anything about it."

Keep It Real wrote:Or corrupt (more likely IMO).

Keep It Real wrote:Or corrupt (more likely IMO).