The Climate Change Solutions Caucus is a Sham

Environmentalists rejoiced at the announcement that some republican legislators in Washington joined the House Climate Solutions Caucus and publicly announced their acknowledgement that climate change is real and manmade. All-in-all there are 25 Democrats and 25 Republicans on this committee.

The ones in the Philadelphia region are Representative Patrick Meehan, PA-07, Representative Ryan Costello, PA-06 and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, PA-08. Two Democrats, Representative Brendan Boyle, PA-13 and Representative Matt Cartwright PA–17.

On closer inspection of their voting records, perhaps praise was premature. Close examination reveals that these Republicans voted against legislation that would fight climate change. So, serving on this committee, it appears, must be a typical political slight-of-hand smoke screen or case of the large print giveth and the small print taketh away which is exactly what makes the electorate so fed up with government.

Representative Meehan’s 2016 voting record reveals that out of 13 bills directly related to climate change, he voted the wrong way on 12 of them. So far in 2017, Meehan voted Yes on the HR 3354 Omnibus Budget to cut $800 million from EPA and he voted Yes on the Mullin Amendment which prohibits funds from being used to estimate the social cost of carbon.

Ryan Costello voted wrong on 10 climate related bills and the wrong way on HR 3354 and the Mullin Amendment. Brian Fitzpatrick voted the wrong way on 13 climate related bills and the wrong way on HR 3354 and the Mullin Amendment. This information comes from the League of Conservation Voters that shows that the above-mentioned Democrat’s voting records are 100% green.

What’s crucial for the public to understand is, since the industrial revolution, the world burned enough carbon to drive the planetary temperature up by 1.2 degrees Celsius. That’s dangerously close to the 1.5-degree limit that scientists say we dare not exceed. Look at the rapid increase in the number of worst weather events ever recorded. Scientists say the world can only burn another 162 billion tons of carbon to get us to the 1.5-degree level. Achieving this is a formidable challenge.

Right now, the world has 2,795 billion tons of carbon in inventory ready to burn – that’s 17 times more carbon than we can afford to burn and expect to survive. If we burn that much it may drive the planetary temperature as high as 6 degrees Celsius (10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) rendering the planet uninhabitable for humans.

Scientists say we only have about 14 years to limit the world’s carbon emissions to 162 billion tons or we’ll cook the planet. So, the question is, are these legislators willing to jeopardize the future of humanity by lying about their commitment to drastically reduce carbon emissions or will they find the courage to vote to achieve this goal? Time is running out.

Richard Whiteford

908 Covington Drive

Downingtown, PA 19335 610-246-7974 savebisophere3@gmail.com

Board Member and Climate Change Adviser for

World Information Transfer an NGO at the

United Nations