Congressional Climate Denial

Global temperatures have been warmer than average for 341 consecutive months.   97% of climate scientists agree the earth's temperature is warming and that human activities are the primary cause.  Even so, an  article in Think Progress finds that 57% of Republicans in congress have made a public statement either denying that climate change is happening or that humans have anything to do with it.


What's more,  the denial pays.  Think Progress figures show that climate deniers in the House receive an average of $241,000 in contributions from dirty energy companies while non-deniers get $69,000 from them.  That's better than a three-and-a-half-to-one spread.  The disparity is even more pronounced, over four-to-one in the Senate, where climate deniers average $699,000 from dirty energy contributions and non-deniers get $171,000. 

The Sierra Club Magazine produced a graphic to display the political landscape reported on in Think Progress.   I've included it below.

 

As you can see, the House of Representatives has 200 Democrats, and every last one of them accepts the findings of climate science.  Of the 233 Republicans in the House, 128 (55%) are known climate deniers.  The Senate is even worse.  The 52 Democrats and 2 Independents who caucus with them (Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine) are all climate realists.  But 30 of the 46 Senate Republicans (65%) are deniers.  And when it comes to the GOP congressional leadership, the opacity is nearly absolute.  Think Progress reports 90% of them are on the denial bandwagon.