False equivalence: A logical fallacy in which two opposing arguments appear to be logically equivalent when in fact they are not. -- Wikipedia
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Scott Pruitt thinks it’s time for a spirited debate on climate change.
That would be a dandy idea if that train hadn’t left the station a long time ago.
And while it’s sad that we have an EPA secretary who will lie to us about the status of climate science, what’s downright frightening is that just about his entire agenda is based on tearing down every rule, regulation and policy designed to fight it and pollution in general.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Pruitt said his department is planning such a debate and that it might be televised. It would challenge scientists to prove the widespread view that global warming is a serious threat.
"There are lots of questions that have not been asked and answered (about climate change)," Pruitt said during the interview. "Who better to do that than a group of scientists... getting together and having a robust discussion for all the world to see.”
Actually, there are lots of questions about climate change that have been asked and answered over the years. Pruitt just doesn’t like the answers the vast majority of climate experts have been giving.
Pruitt was a long-time climate change doubter and fossil fuel industry stooge well before he became EPA secretary. His elevation to the worst cabinet in history makes him even more dangerous to the future of our planet.
As Reuters points out, this comes “as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to roll back a slew of Obama-era regulations limiting carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, and begins a withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement - a global pact to stem planetary warming through emissions cuts.”
Pruitt defends the decision to pull out of the Paris agreement, which was entered into by nearly 200 countries in 2015.
"We have nothing to be apologetic about," Pruitt said. "It was absolutely a decision of courage and fortitude and truly represented an America First strategy with respect to how we are leading on this issue."
It should be noted that some of us equate courage as more like rushing into a burning building to save a child, as opposed to throwing our planet under the bus by abdicating our leadership on one of the biggest and toughest challenges facing us today to satisfy big Republican donors from the fossil fuel industry.
Pruitt said scientists should not scoff at the idea of participating in the debate.
"If you’re going to win and if you’re so certain about it, come and do your deal. They shouldn’t be scared of the debate and discussion," he said.
Scared? You could almost see Scotty jamming his thumbs in his ears, wiggling his fingers, sticking his tongue out and chanting “Naah Naah Nah Naah Naah. You’re a scaredy cat.”
The truth is this is nothing but posturing by Pruitt and the Right, which has steadfastly viewed any science that stands in opposition to their agenda as some kind of mystical unproven gobbledygook.
You know, like evolution.
It’s actually more dangerous than posturing. Pruitt is trying to put both sides of the climate change issue on equal footing, but the fact is the vast majority of climate experts believe that climate change is real and that humans are contributing to the problem.
The percentage of those in agreement is often reported at 97 percent. This has been a point of debate by both sides.
An April 2016 report by Politifact concluded that “overwhelming majorities of experts (climatologists, earth scientists and meteorologists) - sometimes, but not always as high as 97 percent - say humans are contributing to global warming.”
Sounds pretty convincing to me.
Here’s the full article:
Pruitt is hoping that by putting a like number of people with the pro and con positions on climate change in front of you he’ll fool you into thinking there really is legitimate doubt about the subject.
There’s not.
Like any bought-and-paid-for con man, he’s hoping he can lie and no one will take a real look at what he’s saying and how he’s saying it.
It’s what you do when the big money – but not the truth – is on your side.
Actually, I might not have recognized such a con myself if not for a brilliant piece by comedian John Oliver a while back. I can’t sum it up better than he did so I’ll close with this short clip.
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You can see all my posts at my blog Musings of a Nobody.
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