Too Soon, He Says, Too Soon
The new head of the EPA, Scott Pruitt, who almost believes in science but not quite, said this is not, repeat not, the time to talk about climate change.
Pruitt said Thursday that talking about climate change while a hurricane sliced through the Caribbean on its way to Florida was “very, very insensitive” to the people of Florida.
“Here’s the issue,” Scott Pruitt told CNN. “To have any kind of focus on the cause and effect of the storm; versus helping people, or actually facing the effect of the storm, is misplaced.”
God forbid we should be insensitive to people in the path of a hurricane. I mean, it’s time to blame homosexuals, women having abortions, and that weird dancin’ the kids are doing.
Yeah, and Rick Scott won’t even allow the words climate change to be used in official state documents.
Cuz, you know, it’s too soon.
This is also the standard GOP response to gun tragedies. “How can you talk about gun control at a time like this? We need to let the community heal first.” Except there is no better time to talk about it because it just keeps happening over and over.
1Okay, I’ll be the bad guy.
There is no direct evidence this hurricane scenario is the result if climate change. We lack the historical data to support such a claim.
Further, I agree with him this is no time to have a discussion on that subject. People are in danger. We need to be active in saving lives.
Also, this interviewer was off the mark to even bring the subject up. There are other more important concerns right now.
Let’s save lives first. We can argue climate change tomorrow.
2The is not the time to talk about it because, according to them, it’s never the time to talk about it. If you want to discover the causes of a tragedy, impending or recent, just look at what the GOP says it’s not the time to talk about.
I hope these bought-and-paid-for fools get their heads out of their (sand) in time to face charges of crimes against humanity for what they’ve prevented the most powerful and most polluting country on Earth from doing for decades, when even some of them admit that we needed prompt and strong action.
3What Rhea said. If you can’t talk about it (whatever it is), you can’t understand how to prevent it, mitigate it, or deal better with its impact. So it happens again and again.
4We certainly wouldn’t want to recognize that the oceans are warmer, creating stronger hurricanes, because that might help people not just now but in the future.
The Penagon spends more money on climate change research than the EPA, because their harbors and naval stations at sea level can’t afford to pretend king tides, flooding, and higher storm surges don’t exist.
5The only “science” these nut jobs subscribe to is Einstein’s Theory of Insanity. They’re glommed onto that like the covfefe stuck to Donnie’s tweets.
6Yeah, we wouldn’t want to strain their brains any by actually thinking about TWO THINGS AT ONCE!
7OH MY GAWD! IT’S A FREEKIN’ NIGHTMARE!
How awful and disturbing and insensitive to ask our government officials who WANTED to be in those positions of power, yet not actually WORK in those positions of power, to simply accomplish anything while happily accepting our tax dollars as their new salary.
It’s never a good time to talk about it. So let’s talk about it now.
8It’s ALWAYS the weird dancing. Always!
9JAKvirginia, (You aren’t a bad guy).
But . . . .
As Scott Pruitt won’t actually be personally saving anyone’s life and will only be whining about reporters if they report the EPA has become a bunch of climate change denying trolls who are incompetent–why not talk about it?
There is nothing more important that Scott Pruitt can do than get his head out of his butt and live in reality that climate change is real and start dealing with the environmental disasters that will be happening with buried toxic wastes, polluted ground water, etc.
And as far as climate change goes and the 175 mile an hour hurricane . . . . I’m just going to go with it as most of the GOP refuses to.
10Sure wish these folks in D.C. and at the Corporate Headquarters would study a little bit of history.
11One only need to look back at the Dust Bowl years in the thirties to see how human activity can radically change the environment.
Man can also alleviate most of the damage they have done, though the cost of remediation generally out ways the profits for the original actions that caused the problem.
It would be pleasing to have politicians, business and industrial leaders try and look beyond the next election or quarterly report. Of course I have a better chance winning the lottery than expect that out of this administration.
Angela: Thank you for that.
But . . .
Folks, this is a crisis situation. We have Irma. But there’s Katia to the west inching it’s way up the coast. And then Jose following in Irma’s path. This will not be pretty.
I’ve been in a hurricane and ran from one. And when you’re sawing wood and nailing up ply in the blazing hot sun for 24 hours, the last thing on your mind is a discussion about climate change. Especially when faciing an 8-hour crawl up 95 to safety.
There are people in danger in the here and now. They are priority one. Yes… we are affecting our environment and have been for a long time. But right now, right this minute, we have other concerns. Climate change is big issue with much to do long term to fix it. But RIGHT NOW it can wait.
12Whilr this administration is racing to see who can rain more money down upon texass they are refusing any help to Oregon which has a huge percentage/ acreage on fire.
13Guess chemical companies in red states are worthy of aid but forest’s, and related people-jobs, in blue states are not.
If this continues any ethical texan will send half of any assistence they get to Oregon, Washington as sharing their ill gotten funds.
Gee Sandy didn’t require assistence, Fires do not need assistence but toxic waste sites and polluters do.
Or maybe red state/blue state with red state citizens just don’t care about fellow citizens as long as they get to feed at the trough. Otherwise if they had any ethical standards they would not keep sending such greed heads to represent them or they are just admitting that the entire state is nothing but greed heads with exceptions for localized assistence in search of some good publicity.
Reverend Shaw Moore: I’m standing up here before you today… with a very troubled heart. You see, my friends… I’ve always insisted on… taking responsibility for your lives. But, I’m really… like a first-time parent… who makes mistakes… and tries to learn from them. And like that parent… I find myself at that moment when I have to decide. Do I hold on… or do I trust you to yourselves? Let go and hope that you’ve understood… at least some of my lessons. If we don’t start trusting our children… how will they ever become trustworthy? I’m told that the senior class at the high school… has gotten use of the warehouse in Bayson… for the purpose of putting on a senior dance. Please… join me to pray to the Lord to guide them in their endeavors.
14Nothing to worry about. This won’t happen again.
Well, not more than two of these hurricanes.
Probably not more than three, anyway.
Nope, no global warming here, that’s for sure.
15It may be too soon for Florida, but the waiting period is over in Texas so please continue the discussion Miz JJ.
16JAK I usually agree with but not this time — it cannot wait until later. Policies are being changed as the storms brew. Trump changed the flood policies right before Harvey hit. Flood Insurance policy is being debated on the Hill right now as well as funding is being debated and funded (short-term) right now.
Jose and Katia impact the delivery of resources to the islands right now. Barges which deliver most of the needed resources are impacted by climate change right now. Ports are impacted by climate change right now.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/28/climate-change-hurricane-harvey-more-deadly
17JAKvirginia, we hear you our friend! This is a multiple crisis situation. Absolutely FEMA and those of us on the ground need to focus on helping people. Bring every resource to bear, Navy, National Guard, Red Cross, Salvation Army and good folks like M&M and the Cajun Navy.
However, we also have a departmentalized federal government that should be able to multitask to address the crises and take on the responsibility of climate change. Donnie and his climate denying criminals cannot be allowed to delay that conversation.
The weak splat in the Oval Orifice needs to hike his tights and shoulder the burden of leading or get the hell out. That is not politicizing the hurricanes. It’s demanding governance from our government.
The strength of our government is that it still functioning, albeit crippled by the bomb throwers Donnie appointed to wreck those departments and the members of Congress who went to DeeCee to decimate the process.
It’s a wing and a prayer with many thanks to the career people in government, but we can do this.
18Gosh! This sounds like the same b******* I heard years ago regarding desegregation and racial equality! Man o man! These jerks just can’t let go of a sinking ship in order to dog paddle to shore even to save their lives.
19If any thing is “insensitive”, it’s having people in Florida and the Gulf states rebuild their houses and their lives, and have these now commonplace “500-year” storms destroy their lives every three years or so thanks to global warming. It long past time to tell idiots like Pruitt to go hang.
20107 rethuglicans voted against the aide package for Texas and some of them were from Texas. They would rather give tax breaks than help those citizens in dire straights. May they lose everything.
21And climate change = warmer oceans = more fuel for hurricanes = bigger, stronger storms. This administration is chock a block full of fools, hypocrites, and soulless morons. I blame each and every one for insuffiently caring for and about the people they swore oaths to care for.
Tilphousia, I believe it was 17 rethuglicans, not 107 🙂 Regardless, the fact that Texans and Floridians voted against assistance for those impacted by the hurricanes should be shamed by everyone for their selfish stance. How one cannot have empathy and sympathy for those in the path of this unbelievable destruction is simply horrific! I hope everyone in these states remember these cold, cold elected officials remember them come next election.
Those in the terrible fires in the West also deserve some consideration – and help. Whether it is fire or water that is destroying communities and lives, we need to supportive of both situations.
22JAKvirginia: You’re definitely not the bad guy.
Using people’s fear for the lives of their families in imminent danger for political gain
is repugnant.
But please, consider this. You know how a lot of people don’t think about issues until they directly effect them? That’s actually understandable to me because more and more people seem to be losing their sense of empathy for anyone else. So when something catastrophic comes along, directly affecting people who are indifferent to climate change,
23the right wing propaganda apparatus trots out douchebags like Scott Pruitt to keep folks
thinking about sandbags or how far north they have to haul whatever they can fit in their car. And as long as they can be kept focusing on only that, without a thought about who might bear responsibility, they’ve won a great victory. Convincing folks that climate change isn’t real is much easier if hurricane force winds aren’t currently blowing the roof off your house. So it’s much easier to deny climate change when the person you’re trying to convince hasn’t been stuck in traffic for 12 hours, listening to the radio and praying that the eyewall changes direction. The douchebags understand that climate change denial is easier to sell when your families aren’t in danger of drowning. And they have no problem whatsoever utilizing anything they can to keep folks from making the connection. Sorry to be so long winded. But
reminding people of the fact that their situation is directly related to climate change is only reminding them of the truth in real time. When they’re wet. They’re more likely to remember that way.
JAKvirginia, as Steve Sack’s cartoon on 9/1 said, “You can’t point to a particular extreme weather event and blame global warming. But you can point to global warming and predict extreme weather events.”
Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Jose all blew up from tropical storms to Category 4 or 5 monsters in a day or two. It used to be rare to get one of those, not to mention three in a row. Jose is following closely on Irma’s track, which used to mean that Jose would stay small because Irma had churned up colder water to the surface. But now apparently even the lower water brought up is hot enough to feed a Cat 4. Some of the surface water in the Bahamas, where Irma is now, is 90°.
As for the wildfires in the western US, the drought in MT and ND at least is severe, came without warning, and is unprecedented in 100 years of records. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/07/flash-drought-north-dakota-montana-wildfires
Within a week we’ve had satellite photos of western wildfire smoke clear across the continent to New York state, and three hurricanes in a row, two of them Cat 4-5. It doesn’t take much to say these things didn’t use to happen, certainly not all at once.
Pumping CO2 from fossil fuels into the atmosphere at an ever-increasing rate causes Earth’s atmosphere to retain more heat– simple physics. Also more moisture in the air. Possibly less movement in the jet stream, so weather patterns last longer, contributing to floods, drought, heat waves, even longer cold spells and more snow from the added moisture.
Yes, climate change is here, it’s hurting a lot of people (and other species), and we damn well should have been taking effective action to cut back on its causes decades ago. Instead we have the world’s only major political party who insist it’s a lie, and they’re in charge of our government.
24JAK, this has got to be the first time I was not in complete agreement. Climate change is one of a causative factors for the intensity of Irma in my opinion. It is also very much my opinion that a possible bigger factor is the lack of intelligent planning for development, draining as it’s called the “sponge”. There was a tiny bit of discussion about this after Katrina but it seemed to go nowhere. I am pretty confident that as most the people who are leaving their homes are not thinking “climate change” and “over development” at this time. But it’s not useful, either, to wait until it’s all over and cleaned up to start discussion. Pruitt is hoping that people will forget the possible contributing factors. Insensitive my foot, what he is doing is purely political and we are already aware that EVERYTHING is labeled conservative or liberal nowadays.
25He is the head of the Freakin Environmental PROTECTION agency. It is his JOB to talk about it, and talk about it all the time. there are other departments and millions of folks on the ground to help us through the crisis. Believe it or not, he should be able to at least pray for those in harms way AND do his job. We have to start shutting down these diversionary tactics by our employees(ie – govt officials) and call them out on the spot.
26There’s a name for people who sell themselves to the highest bidder, but good manners prevent me from saying the word.
27With apologies to those who disagree, now is the perfect time–the grade A, triple-plated, double indemnified PERFECT time– to talk about climate change and how it causes bad storms to be destroyers of cities.
People will ALWAYS say to wait until the trouble is over, but they are wrong, wrong, WRONG! People need cause and effect, some “this, then that,” or they will blame a vengeful God or pure fate. The will never really look at what they, and generations of ‘they,’ have caused. If you don’t talk about it when it’s happening, it will never be talked about in a meaningful way. At least not while there is still some hope of reversing the effects.
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