Climate Denier Corruption

There is no other way to put this:  a block of Republican politicians are knowingly compromising our lives and our children’s future in order to stay in office.

180 of 535 members of Congress have received $82,882,725 in dirty money from the coal, oil, and gas industries, according to CAPAF’s research.  And, it is not just the money that they get from fossil fuel companies: they also know that if they vote to act on climate, that the fossil fuel industry will use its power and resources to support a more loyal climate denying competitor. 

Donald Trump, the first public climate science denier to win the White House, received an additional $1,132,996 from the fossil fuel industry—not to mention all the support he received from Russian oil oligarchs.  Seven former members of the Climate Denier Caucus have taken senior-level positions in the Trump administration.  Trump then appointed Rex Tillerson, the head of ExxonMobil, someone who received a state medal of honor from Putin, as his Secretary of State.  Putin was on the brink of doing a deal with ExxonMobil to extract even more oil, before Obama halted that deal by enacting sanctions on Russia.  Putin’s admitted support of Trump and suspected efforts to sabotage the U.S. election are likely a function of his desire to continue to expand his corrupt, mafia-fueled profiteering from his country’s oil wealth.

Trump stunned the world when he moved away from the global consensus to address carbon emissions by reducing use of fossil fuels, as agreed to by all nations (except Iraq) at the Paris Conference of the Parties in 2016.  Trump has chosen to join Iraq in disavowing support for the Paris Accord.  According to ThinkProgress:

“The unprecedented scenario of an unabashed climate science denier in the White House has broad implications for his climate–denier–heavy cabinet and the manner in which federal agencies deal with science and climate regulations. One of the most prominent climate deniers in Congress, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), has seen several of his staff take positions at the EPA.

Trump’s ascendance also gives anti-science representatives new prominence, and the opportunity to push legislation attacking the EPA, boosting fossil fuels, and compromising science-based policy. According to a recent analysis, in its first 100 days, Congress voted 42 times on anti-environmental provisions, including voting on reforms to regulations that would limit federal agency ability to set pollution limits and weaken public participation. Additionally, Congress voted nine times to use the Congressional Review Act, which had only been used once ever before in history, to undo critical Obama environmental protections, such as a rule to protect waterways from toxic coal mining waste. It is also being reported that Senate Republicans will vote as early as next week to revoke a regulation aimed at reducing waste from methane emissions on public lands.”

Elected Officials who deny the science of climate climate and also take funding from fossil fuel companies

These 180 Senators and Representatives are allowing their personal political interests stand in the way of the U.S. making political progress to reduce our carbon emissions.  They are entirely beholden to their fossil fuel donors and the corrupting influence of fossil fuel donor resistance to political solutions, which might cause pressure to reduce our dependence on using fossil fuels.  Because every single one of these Climate Deniers is Republican, the Republican party was called the most dangerous organization in human history by Noam Chomsky.  

References

ThinkProgress, The Climate Denier Caucus in Trump’s Washington: There are 180 climate deniers in Congress, and one in the White House,by Claire Moser and Ryan Koronowski, Apr 28, 2017. This summary post relies heavily on the reporting done in this article and re-posts the graphic.  Please go to ThinkProgress and read the original article. 

CAPAC, Center for American Progress Action Fund:  Since taking office in January 2017, the Trump administration has taken dozens of actions to weaken clean air and water protections; block action on climate change; and sell out our public lands to the fossil fuel industry. CAP Action is tracking it all.  The data provided in this post was extracted and adapted from this CAPAF Data Google Doc.

The Independent, Noam Chomsky: Republican Party is the most dangerous organisation in human history, by Maya Oppenheim, April 27, 2017.