The House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space and Technology set off a firestorm after tweeting an article from Breitbart on Thursday titled “Global Temperatures Plunge. Icy Silence from Climate Alarmists.”
U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, leads the committee, which oversees NASA, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation and the Environmental Protection Agency along with a litany of other science-related agencies.
Smith’s office declined to comment and referred a reporter to the committee, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Global land temperatures have plummeted by one degree Celsius since the middle of this year – the biggest and steepest fall on record,” the article said. “The last three years may eventually come to be seen as the final death rattle of the global warming scare.”
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.@BreitbartNews: Global Temperatures Plunge. Icy Silence from Climate Alarmists https://t.co/uLUPW4o93V
— Sci,Space,&Tech Cmte (@HouseScience) December 1, 2016
The highest ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas, was quick to deride the post.
False news & false facts put us all in danger... https://t.co/8hy6haEPaL
— US Rep E.B.Johnson (@RepEBJ) December 1, 2016
English writer James Delingpole, who denies scientifically-accepted theories on climate change, authored the piece.
“Thanks [sic] what’s now recognized as an unusually strong El Nino, global temperatures were driven to sufficiently high levels to revive the alarmist narrative — after an unhelpful pause period of nearly 20 years — that the world had got hotter than ever before,” Delingpole wrote.
Global warming is determined by most scientists to be real and affected by human activity. The National Ocean Service said global sea levels are rising at rates not seen for thousands of years. Sea level rise is a byproduct of higher global temperatures.
Vermont Sen. and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders also chimed in on social media to mock the committee.
Where'd you get your PhD? Trump University? https://t.co/P5Ez5fVEwD
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 1, 2016
Delingpole merged reporting by the Daily Mail with his own opinions in the article. He referenced the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a United Kingdom-based organization that denies climate change. The Guardian reports the Global Warming Policy Foundation has ties to the coal industry.
Alex Daugherty: 202-383-6049, @alextdaugherty
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