Louisiana, Sinking Fast, Remains A State Where Climate Denial Reigns At Every Level Of Government
Louisiana is ground zero for the devastating impacts of climate change. Even though the state is already feeling the costly impacts to life and property due to extreme weather and an eroding coastline linked to a warming planet, its government continues to ignore the primary cause — human use of fossil fuels. The impacts to the region, such as worsening floods, heat waves, and sea level rise, will only be intensified as the globe continues warming, warn federal scientists in the latest National Climate Assessment report. But instead of heeding scientists’ warnings, Louisiana’s government continues to welcome the prospects of new billion-dollar petrochemical plants, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, and an oil export hub, all without a mention of their climate change impacts. Leading the pack, Gov. John Bel Edwards continues to gush over turning Louisiana into a world leader in natural gas and oil exports.
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I asked the governor’s press secretary what he thought about the Fourth National Climate Assessment, an exhaustive review of environmental data by a team of hundreds of scientists that puts Louisiana square in the eye of physical and financial hardship due to climate change — and got no reply. I also checked to see if the governor wanted to update his stance on climate change since his remarks during a 2016 radio show when he stated that he believes the climate is changing, but is less certain how much humans play a role in it. “The degree to which human conduct is impacting that change, I think, is somewhat debatable,” he said an episode of Louisiana Radio Network’s Ask The Governor show.
“That’s like saying, ‘yes there is gravity, but I’m not sure what Earth’s role is,’” climate scientist Michael Mann told me, commenting on those people who dismiss climate science with reasoning like Gov. Edwards’. “The reality is that natural factors (volcanoes and fluctuations in solar output) were most likely a cooling influence over the past half century. So not only can natural factors not explain the warming — they were actually working in the opposite direction,” Mann told me via email, adding: “Only the increase in greenhouse gas concentrations from fossil fuel burning can explain the warming we have seen.”
Climate Denial on Both Sides of the Aisle in the Louisiana
Gov. Edwards, a Democrat, isn’t alone in ignoring the latest National Climate Assessment and its warnings for the Pelican State. There is nothing about the landmark climate report on the websites of Louisiana Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, Republican Representatives Garret Graves, Steve Scalise, and Clay Higgins, or Democrat Rep. Cedric Richmond. For any Louisiana politician to ignore the National Climate Assessment is a “crying damn shame,” former General Russell Honoré, founder of the GreenARMY, a coalition of Louisiana environmental groups and concerned citizens fighting against pollution, said over the phone.
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https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/12/21/fossil-fuels-climate-denial-reign-louisiana-scientists-dire-warnings
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