President Says Climate May Be Fabulous and Casts Doubt on UN Global Warming Report

The world's second largest carbon polluter is led by a man who believes that global warming is a hoax and that the climate is "fabulous." President Trump said he would read the new UN report on climate change, but then expressed doubts about its findings, saying that he had read other reports saying the climate was "fabulous". The President's response is sad and frustrating.

If America doesn't take the lead on climate change, there is little hope to make any progress in time to head off the worst consequences outlined in the report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change this week. But don't expect a change of heart by the Trump administration.

Step by step, President Trump has undermined policies put in place by President Obama to address the problem by withdrawing from the Paris climate accord and rolling back emission limits on cars and coal-fired power plants. And Trump's new EPA head, Andrew Wheeler, is a former coal-industry lobbyist who has refused to acknowledge human influence on the climate, so expect more of the same in the coming years.

New York Times: “This report makes it clear: There is no way to mitigate climate change without getting rid of coal,” said Drew Shindell, a climate scientist at Duke University and an author of the report. Mr. Trump has vowed to increase the burning of coal."

“It makes me feel angry when I think about the U.S. government,” Mr. Shindell said. “My kids feel like it’s their future being destroyed.”

America must elect a Democratic Congress in November and replace Trump with responsible leadership in 2020. If we fail to do that, expect the worst possible climate scenarios to come true. It will be difficult to argue that we don't deserve them.

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