In a year that has already brought both one of the mildest winters on
record to the Midwest while delivering a rash of devastating tornadoes
to portions of the Southwest, findings of a new report suggest the
number of people affected by extreme weather events will likely increase
if more is not done to curb climate change. Read more »
Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, who represents Illinois' 19th congressional district, called into to the Don Wade and Roma show, and couldn't resist getting in a little jab at global warming. The reason? It was snowing in southern Illinois. "Global warming, watch out!" the congressman says. Listen to the clip here.
This morning's comments are the latest in Shimkus' denial of the reality of climate change. "The earth will end only when God declares its time to be over. Man will
not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood" he asserted at a House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment hearing in 2009. In February 2010, Shimkus saw proof climate change was a hoax in the sight of people "ice-fishing on ponds in Southern Illinois." Never mind the difference between climate and weather.
Shimkus has a lot of company these days in Congress. Despite the overwhelming scientific consensus that human activity is driving climate change, it's de riguer for Washington Republicans to reject any such link. Think Progress calculates that 128 out the 242 members of the House GOP caucus (or 53 percent) have publicly questioned the science behind climate change, while 35 out of 47 Republican members of the Senate have done so.
At a recent dinner held by the Sangamon County Republicans, GOP Rep. John Shimkus took his extremeclimate change skepticism to the next level. During his speech, he suggested that the sight of farmers "ice-fishing on ponds in Southern Illinois" is the latest evidence that global warming is a "hoax." (Listen here.) The State Journal-Register's Bernie Schoenburg got the following response from Dennis Ruez Jr., an environmental studies professor at the University of Illinois-Springfield:
“Most people do not understand the difference between climate and
weather,” he said. “Ice fishing in Illinois does not necessarily mean
cooling climate; similarly, a hot summer does not necessarily mean
warming climate." ... He said 2009 “was the warmest year ever
recorded in the southern hemisphere and the second warmest for us in
the northern hemisphere. The 2000-2009 decade was the warmest recorded.”
As the future of climate change legislation is debated on Capitol Hill, some three dozen Illinois lawmakers have joined with the Progressive States Netwrok in urging President Obama and Congressional leaders to usher through a comprehensive bill this year.
In a year that has already brought both one of the mildest winters on
record to the Midwest while delivering a rash of devastating tornadoes
to portions of the Southwest, findings of a new report suggest the
number of people affected by extreme weather events will likely increase
if more is not done to curb climate change.
Republican U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, who represents Illinois' 19th congressional district, called into to the Don Wade and Roma show, and couldn't resist getting in a little jab at global warming. The reason? It was snowing in southern Illinois. "Global warming, watch out!" the congressman says. Listen to the clip 