Climate Change Deniers Stand With Climate Change Suppliers

It’s no secret: climate change is real and is aggravated by human activity like burning coal, oil, gas and fossil fuels that emit climate-disrupting carbon and other air pollution. According to an extensive survey by the National Academy of Sciences, 97-98% of scientists believe climate disruption is the real deal and humans are actively contributing to the problem. Even the general public agrees, 87% of Americans support EPA action to establish and enforce greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for power plants and large industries.

But then why does a reactionary minority of Capitol Hill politicians refute this overwhelming evidence? These powerful Republican lawmakers have been finding themselves in the media a lot recently, so I did some research to learn about a few of these politicians suffering from what I call “Climate Change Denial Disorder.” The facts are clear - they’re putting climate-denying campaign donors who would fight tooth and nail against climate action before their constituents.

Fred Upton: Michigan’s Climate Flip-Flopper

Since 1987, Upton has served in the House of Congress representing Michigan's sixth congressional district. Thought to be on the side of science and reason in the battle against climate change, Upton even went as far to put this quote on his website: "I strongly believe that everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions," which has strangely disappeared since. He has certainly changed his tune in recent memory by calling for an end to the "EPA chokehold" and taking a substantial donation from the Koch Brothers in 2010. These big-time oil and gas magnates, whose business Koch Industries is in the top 10 of polluters in America,  gave Upton a $20,000 campaign contribution from the brothers, making them among his top 10 donors in that cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Koch brothers -- whose empire includes major oil and logging entreprises -- found themselves a valuable partner in climate crime in Upton, as he is the Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I shouldn’t forget to mention that Upton’s top donor was nuclear waste giant EnergySolutions with a healthy $38,800 in contributions.

Marco ‘Money Talks’ Rubio

Another Koch Brother crony, Marco Rubio, is not shy about his stance on climate change. The first term Florida Senator with presidential aspirations said, “the government can't change the weather...We can pass a bunch of laws that will destroy our economy, but it isn’t going to change the weather,” during an interview on Fox and Friends earlier this year. In addition to a donation of $32,200 from the Koch Brothers to aid his successful 2010 senate run, he also received a whopping $346,450 from The Club for Growth, his biggest contributor and an ardent denier of climate change who lobbied against relief for the victims of superstorm Sandy.

Ted ‘Lizard Boots’ Cruz

Freshman Texas Senator Ted Cruz is not shy about putting oil above ecology. Cruz once said, “You know, in West Texas, the EPA is trying to use a lizard to shut down oil and gas production. You know my view of lizards? They make darn fine boots.” Mr. Cruz is steadfast in his support for the climate-disaster Keystone XL pipeline, rolling back the Endangered Species Act (as evidenced by his misplaced contempt of lizards), and abolishing the Energy Department. Quoted as saying, “There remains considerable uncertainty about the effect of the many factors that influence climate...Nonetheless, climate-change proponents based their models on assumptions about those factors, and now we know that many of those assumptions were wrong.” The Club for Growth makes it’s second appearance in this piece as Cruz’s top funder, but he also has ties to the right wing think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation, a group with a laundry list of funders in the fossil fuel industry.

Rand Paul: Polluters Best Friend

Another newcomer in the Senate, Rand Paul of Kentucky is another regular player in the climate denial game. A staunch dissident of EPA safeguards and a big believer in the Keystone pipeline and oil subsidies Paul once said, "[Scientists] are making up their facts to fit their conclusions. They’ve already caught them doing this." Just behind our friends at The Club for Growth, Paul’s next largest contributor is the major coal producer Alliance Resource Partners, who also backs many other GOP politicians in Kentucky to ensure their corporate interests are protected.

John Boehner: Merchant of Misconception

Last but not least is one of the most climate-confused men in America. The current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, this old-school Ohioan has deeper ties to fossil fuels than many people realize. Constantly pressuring Obama to allow the the Keystone XL pipeline it is nearly nausea inducing to learn that in 2010 Boehner invested in seven Canadian tar sand companies. Conflict of interest much? Not surprising that this snake in the grass would say, “the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide," in an interview with George Stephanopoulos.