The House Science Committee came under fire after sharing a misleading and inaccurate article about climate change. The committee tweeted an article from Breitbart News, which in reality, was an article mocking climate alarmists.
According to Snopes, the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology tweeted the article from the conservative news website Breitbart, however, that article was based on an extremely misleading article from the Daily Mail. The article attempts to argue that El Nino caused the record-breaking warmth in recent years and claims that evidence exists proving climate change is actually one big hoax. The article reads, in part:
Global land temperatures have plummeted by one degree Celsius since the middle of this year – the biggest and steepest fall on record.
But the news has been greeted with an eerie silence by the world’s alarmist community. You’d almost imagine that when temperatures shoot up it’s catastrophic climate change which requires dramatic headlines across the mainstream media and demands for urgent action. But that when they fall even more precipitously it’s just a case of “nothing to see here”.
The paper referenced shows an argument centered around a “slow decadal scale” in global surface temperate, however, that idea “is explicitly rejected by its authors.” Long-term changes in temperature are used to gauge climate change, not steep, sudden ones like those brought on by weather effects.
Many on social media criticized the committee for sharing the article, including former presidential hopeful and Senator Bernie Sanders, who asked, “Where’d you get your PhD? Trump University?” (President-elect Donald Trump has denied climate change is real, claiming it’s a Chinese “hoax”).
Social Media Criticizes House Science Committee for Sharing Inaccurate Climate Change Article
Where'd you get your PhD? Trump University? https://t.co/P5Ez5fVEwD
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 1, 2016
Looks like we need to put the "science"' back in Science, Space & Tech. Maybe @Scripps_Ocean can clarify a few things on #climatechange… https://t.co/yvk0bIU2Sp
— Rep. Scott Peters (@RepScottPeters) December 1, 2016
Jesus. The House Science Committee just cited a false Breitbart report that the climate is cooling.
Our Orwellian future is here. https://t.co/KY6CE8JqJz— Eric Holthaus (@EricHolthaus) December 1, 2016
The chairman of the House Commitee is Lamar Smith of Texas.
He also writes for Breitbart. pic.twitter.com/MdmGWvaArK
— ᴏʜ ғᴜᴄᴋ ɪᴛ's %FEMALENAME (@ashleylynch) December 2, 2016
Cold winters and climate change aren't mutually exclusive. In fact they're expected. I read a helpful NASA Kids article about this.
— Saved You A Trick (@SavedYouATrick) December 1, 2016
The House Science Committee, according to Snopes, oversees multiple organizations, including NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
What are your thoughts on the article that the committee shared on climate change? Sound off in the comments section below!