021 EPA Chief Scott Pruitt: Carbon Dioxide Isn’t Contributing To Global Warming

In remarks would be stunning coming from the mouth of anyone with a middle school science education—to say nothing of the current head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Pruitt continued his long history of flouting the facts in an interview with CNBC host Joe Kernen on Thursday saying that carbon dioxide emissions are not a major contributor to global warming. Joe Kernen: "Do you believe that it’s been proven that CO2 is the primary control knob for climate? Do you believe that?" Scott Pruitt: "No, I––No, I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do, and there’s tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact. So, no, I would not agree that it’s a primary contributor to the global warming that we see." Joe Kernen: "OK. All right––" Scott Pruitt: "But we don’t know that yet, as far as—we need to continue debate and continue the review and the analysis." His statements could put him at odds with the law. Federal courts have ruled the EPA is obligated to regulate carbon dioxide under the Clean Air Act. Here is what the EPA website says about CO2: Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that is contributing to recent climate change. CO2 is absorbed and emitted naturally as part of the carbon cycle, through plant and animal respiration, volcanic eruptions, and ocean-atmosphere exchange. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use, release large amounts of CO2, causing concentrations in the atmosphere to rise. The current CO2 level is higher than it has been in at least 800,000 years. Understanding that many Trump supporters are willing to look the other way as we sail over the Climate cliff as long as Trump delivers jobs we will also discuss Trump’s promise, oft repeated, that pipeline projects will be built with “American Steel.” As with most things that come out of Trump’s face, this lands squarely in the land of #alternativefacts. As first reported by Steve Horn at DeSmog Blog, the steel to construct the Keystone XL pipeline will not be produced in the United States, as Trump has so boisterously promised, but the frim that will benefit is a Canada by a subsidiary of Evraz, a company 31-percent owned by Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who is a close ally of Putin and a Trump family friend. Evraz has also actively lobbied against provisions which would mandate that Keystone XL's steel be made in the U.S. Hm, I wonder if anyone else is looking into this Russia thing? Get in touch via email or by calling the listener feedback line at (888) 213-5353 ****