by Laurence LewisPennsylvania Republican Senate nominee Pat Toomey continues to prove his disconnect from reality. On climate change, he'd already joined the club of Republicans against science, and he's standing firm. Greg Sargent:
Here's the exchange, at around the 15 minute mark of the interview on WTIF radio:
QUESTIONER: I have a question about global warming and what Toomey's position is on that and what he believes is going on there.
TOOMEY: My view is, I think the data is pretty clear. There has been an increase in the surface temperature of the planet over the course of the last 100 years or so. I think it's clear that that has happened. The extent to which that has been caused by human activity I think is not as clear. I think that is still very much disputed and has been debated. If we go down the road of legislation like this cap and trade bill...
Right, but who, exactly, is doing the disputing and the debating here?
Once again, a joint statement (pdf) by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Geophysical Union, American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Meteorological Society, American Society of Agronomy, American Society of Plant Biologists, American Statistical Association, Association of Ecosystem Research Centers, Botanical Society of America, Crop Science Society of America, Ecological Society of America, Natural Science Collections Alliance, Organization of Biological Field Stations, Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, Society of Systematic Biologists, Soil Science Society of America, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research:
Observations throughout the world make it clear that climate change is occurring, and rigorous scientific research demonstrates that the greenhouse gases emitted by human activities are the primary driver. These conclusions are based on multiple independent lines of evidence, and contrary assertions are inconsistent with an objective assessment of the vast body of peer-reviewed science. Moreover, there is strong evidence that ongoing climate change will have broad impacts on society, including the global economy and on the environment.
The scientists don't dispute it or debate it. Toomey, like all of this year's GOP Senate nominees, is in a debate with reality. And it's only our collective future that's at stake.
continued at Daily Kos....
I was one of the bloggers invited to participate in this telephone press conference with these three advocates of human rights and environmental justice.