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.
What passes for "science" and "consensus" among lefties these days is truly sad.— MaggieL- Climate change has occurred throughout the planet's history. Carbon dioxide is emitted by all living things.— Falls Ed
- Several thousand years ago there were 2-mile thick glaciers where Philadelphia is today. I think that the planet is getting warmer and that humans have a lot to do with it. So what? It's going to get warmer anyway, and then it will get colder. Humans will either adapt or we'll die out.— Moe_Syzlak
- The "Global Warming" dogma the ideologues continually practice like some phony religion, is getting old. The only "science" that backs man-made "global warming" are those who are collecting money to either "study" it, or the charlatans like Al Gore, who are getting wealthy, while jetting around the world, getting paid to preach their dogma. Anyone who actually believes in man-made global warming is either an ideologue or dumber than a box of hammers! The actual body of science refuting it is rather irrefutable and the doctored "hockey stick" studies prove it was all a hoax from the left wingnuts!— TruthTeller01
- Liberals "don't need no stinking' facts"! In typical fascist left wing fashion "the debate is over" because they declare it over! Liberals & their conspirators in the left wing-controlled media never let facts get in the way of a good story. There's never any use for looking at the actual scientific data and utilizing an outcomes-based approach. Keep drinking the Kool-Aid Democrats - Obama's not driving the country into bankruptcy either, right?!? He's "negotiating" with Congress, right?!? A bowling ball has more sense than a Democrat!— TruthTeller01
- Krancer seems an odd choice for DEP chief. Wasn't he also of the opinion that natural gas driiling causes no harm to the environment ? Corbett's choice for head of DEP leaves PA citizens shortchanged.— Jeff C.
- Uh, yeah - 13940 peer-reviewed research papers over the last decade disagree. (24 agree). But hey, half these idiots think men walked with dinosaurs and the earth is 6000 years old, so science isn't their strongpoint. These imbeciles would be more likely to believe you if you told them the earth was getting hotter because it's being drawn toward gods a------- as the end days approach.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatusTheSecond
- http://MakeBenProud.com/ is a run-down of Philly green energy suppliers, sources and rates. Save hundreds of dollars while protecting from climate change. For those interested in healthier air.— Joe Chill
