Sierra Club Testimony Seems to Burn Under Congressional Scrutiny

Sierra Club President Aaron Mair testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Mair did not seem prepared to answer hostile questions.

Senator Ted Cruz's used this time to drive home the point that satellite data over the last 18 years have not shown global warming. All Mair seemed prepared to say was that 97% of scientists surveyed claim that global warming is due to anthropogenic climate change.




 It was unfortunate for the Sierra Club to have their leader constantly consult with counsel over simple questions.  Mair seemed misinformed about "The Pause" as the Sierra Club chief claimed it was about a phenomenon in the 1940s.  Cruz noted that environmental activists have attributed the 18 year anomaly of no rising global temperatures as "The Pause".

What was telling was when Senator Cruz pressed Mair if he would issue a retraction on behalf of the Sierra Club if the scientific data showed that there was no increase in global temperatures as observed through satellite data over the last 18 years. In response, all the Sierra Club President could do is inanely repeat his talking point about how 97% of scientists surveyed claimed "the debate is over".

The intersection of Big Science and public policy is fraught with danger.  Pope Francis seemed to premise his papal encyclical Laudato Si on the consensus of climate change scientists and urged urgent action during the Paris Global Warming Gathering in December.  It is worrisome when those who want to rule with science ignore contervailing data because it goes against their orthodoxy and simply claim consensus rules.

Rep. Refuses to Attend Pope Francis Speech Because of Papal Politics

This week, the hot ticket in the District of Calamity was getting tickets to see the Pope.  Only 25,000 people were allowed entrance for the Mass at the Basilica in Catholic University.  The White House allowed 15,000 people to see the Pope on the South Lawn of the White House (along with a couple of uncomfortable invitees for the Vatican). On Capitol Hill, 50,000 tickets were issued to see the Pope's address to the Joint Session of Congress, albeit many watching on the lawn.

But Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ 1st) rejected his two allotted tickets because of his belief that Pope Francis is too political. The Papal Encyclical Laudato Si was trumpeted by the secular press as being a bull about climate change (instead of being properly read as a all encompassing missive about the ecology of humanity).  So Congressman Gosar made his protest and is presumably sitting at home for the speech.

While it is true that Pope Francis did speak in glowing terms about enacting climate change legislation, the pontiff did not let the power that be in the White House off easy.  Pope Francis' remarks at the White House started with a subtle slam for President Barack Obama about respecting the fine American tradition religious liberty.  Later in the day, Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop to visit the Little Sisters of the Poor, the religious order being forced to cover contraception against their consciences under Obamacare.

As a Jesuit, Pope Francis is all about dialog and encounter.  It's a pity that Gosar as a practicing Catholic chose not to participate in that by politely hearing out a visiting Head of State and Holy Father to 1.2 billion Catholics. As a faith leader, Pope Francis is not bound to American ideological boxes of conservative or liberal and ought to instruct his faithful in ways that may make people feel uncomfortable.  If Rep. Gosar has proper catechesis, he ought to know that not everything the Pope utters is infallible.  In fact, Paragraph 189 of Laudato Si urges robust but honest and transparent debate over the matter.  It is a pity that politics nowadays is sometimes degenerated to trolling for attention instead of seeking solutions through honest debate and deliberations.