Senate votes to dismiss climate science
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States Senate voted 56 to 42 to table an amendment offered by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on climate science. If approved, the amendment would have been attached to S.1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act, which would force approval of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. Senators have avoided going on record to acknowledge that climate disruption is predicated on the human use of fossil fuels. The amendment said:
(1) climate change is real;
(2) climate change is caused by human activities;
(3) climate change has already caused devastating problems in the United States and around the world; and
(4) it is imperative that the United States transform its energy system away from fossil fuels and toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
Friends of the Earth’s Climate and energy associate Luísa Abbott Galvão issued the following statement:
Today’s vote made clear that the Senate is scandalously out of touch with the American public and does not respect science. Outside of the insulated halls of Congress, Americans understand the gravity of climate disruption because they are already experiencing its effects in their daily lives. Acknowledging climate disruption while dismissing the role of human activity such as burning fossil fuels is tantamount to climate denial. Today some senators demonstrated that they are so dependent on oil money that they are afraid to discuss the contribution of fossil fuels to climate disruption.
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Expert contact: Luísa Abbott Galvão, (202) 222-0716, [email protected]
Communications contact: Kate Colwell, (202) 222-0744, [email protected]