One almost feels pity for Janet McCabe under grueling questioning by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL). It’s clear she knows—well, pretty much nothing relevant about the science of climate change.
Maybe we shouldn’t expect much scientific knowledge from her, though. She’s not a scientist. (Remember that next time someone tries to silence you on global warming because you’re not a scientist.) She’s a lawyer and former environmental health advocate.
But she’s nominated to be Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation. Shouldn’t someone with a background in science hold that position?
In this video Senator Sessions asks her if she agrees that “Information manipulation can be a novel and helpful mechanism for resolving the climate problem,” as some anthropogenic climate change proponents claim.
McCabe responds that she is not a scientist, but will do her best to insure that all programs are based on the best science.
Senator Sessions then asks “Do you believe that there are more hurricanes now than in the past?”
She responds that she doesn’t know the specific statistics, but she does know that “global warming puts more energy into the atmosphere and can cause more severe weather.”
Senator Sessions then decimates her testimony with a number of reports and testimonies, including from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that there are “no significant observable trends in global tropical cyclone frequency over the last century.”
From there it’s all downhill for McCabe.
If she isn’t a scientist, and doesn’t know the statistics, why was she nominated?
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