“The climate is always changing, and I am not a climate denier…the big issue is how much is man’s activities impacting climate? Nobody knows for sure,” said Rep. Michael Moffett at a hearing for HR 27, a resolution about climate change in policy-making decisions. His testimony called the work of activists “climate extremism” and said science “isn’t about consensus.” He claimed that scientists are bullied into signing on to climate research (97% of scientists agree climate change is being driven by human activity.) The misguided resolution claims that climate change is undecided, that there is a “wide array of opinions” on human impacts.

On the contrary, the issue of climate change is not about opinions: it’s a scientifically researched fact that human activity has greatly influenced the climate change we are experiencing today. If you want scientific data, look up the IPCC Reports, compiled by thousands of scientists around the world. When we learned about research in middle school, we learned how to spot a trusted source for scientific information versus a personal opinion. When it comes to climate change, “opinion” is not fact. HR 27 is based on false information: climate denialism funded by think-tanks and companies like Exxon Mobil. If following peer-reviewed scientists and trying to reduce harm is an “extremist climate agenda” then call me extremist. We may not be able to stop sea level rise and climate disasters but we can move our economy towards clean energy and stop making climate change worse by relying on fossil fuels.

Rebecca Beaulieu

Dover