DEP chief skeptical on human role in climate change
Pennsylvania's environmental protection chief found himself on the hotseat on climate change this week during hearings on his agency's budget.
DEP chief skeptical on human role in climate change
Pennsylvania's environmental protection chief found himself on the hotseat on climate change this week during legislative hearings on his agency's budget.
In hearings before the House and Senate appropriations committees, Democratic lawmakers pressed DEP Secretary Michael Krancer on the issue of climate change, specifically did he believe it was real?
At the House hearing on Wednesday, Rep. Greg Vitali (D., Delaware) asked Krancer whether he agreed with the following statement from a National Academy of Sciences report:
Climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for–and in many cases is already affecting–a broad range of human and natural systems.
“It is a compound statement,” he said. ”I’d have to study it and look at it myself.”
Krancer later clarified his position in an interview with StateImpactPA, a public radio project focusing on natural gas drilling and the environment.
“[Scientists have] concluded that the world is getting warmer,” he told State impact. “They’ve also concluded that human activity contributes to greenhouse gas and carbon emissions to the atmosphere. I agree with that.”
But he maintained there was no scientific consensus about the role of humans in climate change.
“There is no uniformity within the scientific community on how much the warming is occurring,” said Krancer, “And there’s no agreement about how much is attributable to the human part of it and how much is attributable to other factors.”
Environmental advocates begged to differ.
"It's disheartening to have the top enviromental official say this," said David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, a statewide environmental advocacy group. "On the one hand he says he wants to make decisions around science, yet here we have a pretty broad and deep consensus that climate change is real and it's caused by human activity and effects will be disasterous."
Masur went on to say, "what he’s saying is out of touch with the public with our own academics and with even the biggest CO2 emitters."
A Bucks County lawmaker said he was surprised that Krancer agreed that reducing carbon emissions was a good thing, but did not say why.
"It's amazing to me that the highest environmental official in Pennsylvania cannot offer an opinion about the issue of global warming despite acknowledging that it would be better for our environment to have lower carbon emissions,” said Steve Santarsiero, a Democrat. “The constraints on the secretary are yet another example of how environmental protection is not a priority of this governor.”
Gov. Corbett did not mention the environment at all in his 2013 budget address earlier this month.
In the 1950s we were told the Russians were going to invade the US and another Ice Age will soon be upon us as we huddled under our school desks practicing for the attack. Some of our neighbors built fallout shelters and others stocked up on warm clothes and food anticipating the incoming glaciers.
Climate change is a natural occurrence and no legislation will stop it.— Ralph 1- I agree. Stupid tree huggers. Lets pump more pollutants into the atmosphere! Dump those chemies in the waterways! — Bobski5000
- Typical bed wetter response from Bobski5000 to a cogent, well reasoned post. I guess you, Al Gore and Barack Obama really do believe you can make the oceans rise or fall - sorta like King Farouk. — Themonkofmagdalena
- Sludge huggers would risk the planet to preserve their narrow ideology. They would put their views ahead of the well being of their children. — Jfreed
- When you're talking about global warming, you're talking about one thing and one thing only: CO2 emissions. The largest emitter of CO2 are the oceans. Is that your definition of sludge? — URANIUM235
- We were all one loose bomb away from a nuclear winter back then, Ralph. Thank God it didn't happen. Now that we know the planet is warming with a little help from CO2 and other greenhouse gases, it's not so crazy to at least demand our public officials acknowledge there's a problem. — Tedyuscung
- Proof again that this paper is a rag!!!— Alpha58
- Climate change deniers really are like flat Earth believers. The planet does not conform to your primitive beliefs. Yes, variations in climate are natural, but the sharply increased rate of those variations is human induced. Do you deny the laws of physics and chemistry as well? You people who complain about this news outlet, obviously never read anything else (which is pretty funny). If you did then you'd know that the science is solid on global warming.
phunnyphilly.wordpress.com— InNane - Just standard-issue Republican clown logic. Sorry, I don't want to talk nice anymore. The Republican House of Representatives is willing to blow up the economy to prevent Obama from succeeding. Why give them respect when they are profoundly indifferent to the welfare of the majority of their constituents?— person
- Global warming: cyclical climatic change or human intervention?
The environment (climate) of our planet is in a constant state of change and has been for 5 billion years of its existence. From ice ages to drought, Earth has, historically and archeologically, been subjected to an ever ending climatic change which is cyclical according to science, too many examples to cite but let’s examine just one.
Start with the Sahara desert which is larger than the United States. However, 6,000 years ago it was verdant grass lands which supported a variety of life. The ever present North Atlantic current changed it into a wasteland (desert) through a drought and in great part was responsible for its inhabitants to migrate to the Nile Delta which was the beginning of the ancient super power, Egypt.
However, after centuries of the Ancient Kingdom of Egypt’s presence this all but supernatural civilization ceased to be virtually overnight in what is described as a catoptric event. The last pyramid had been built and the last Pharaoh, Pepi II Neferkare had left a thriving civilization. But that would, very soon end.
That catastrophic transformation for Egypt was a drought, similar to that which destroyed the lush lands of the Sahara. The drought lasted for approximately 200 years and ushered in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. Coinciding with the collapse of Egypt were the kingdoms of the Arcadian Empire (Mesopotamia) Turkey, Palestine and the Greek Mainland which have been scientifically proven to have experienced the same drought at the same time, which caused their demise as did that of Egypt.
One cannot deny the CO2 emissions produced by humans must impact the environment and atmosphere in some fashion. What is the point? Just how much greenhouse gases did these ancient civilizations produce and what effect did they have on the climate in relation to greenhouse gas emissions that changed THEIR CLIMATES and caused catastrophic results?
— STEPHEN1988 - You would think that when somebody took the time and effort to write a comment this long - on a Saturday morning at the crack of dawn yet - that the comment would attract admiring attention.
Please excuse me while I pour some more coffee - I'll finish reading the comment this afternoon over lunch... - If Krancer is correct about not being able to trust scientific studies, then we should stop teaching evolution in schools and resume teaching intelligent design. Krancer should be immediately brought in for a performance evaluation and a steep cut in pay should be looming on his State employment horizon. Have a nice retirement! Find an island somewhere and lower your carbon footprint - forever.— bad joe s
- Like orbett a clown like Krancer needs to go, and will be gone in lesss than 2 years, its mind boggling that chief enviormental officer cant acknowledge that humans are responsible for climate change. Like I said ' he needs to go'— BRIT
- He Visto Todo....your opinions about my posts are really none of my business, try taking a laxitive instead of coffe, it may clear your brain a bit.
— STEPHEN1988
