GOP congressman asks if rocks are causing sea levels to rise

BipolarFuk

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A member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology evinced skepticism about climate change during an exchange with a witness about rising sea levels.

Instead, Alabama Republican Rep. Mo Brooks offered an additional culprit: soil or rock deposits into the world's waters.

A study released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in March documented accelerating sea-level rise driven by climate change.

E&E News reported on the comments of Brooks and others at the hearing, including California GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher who said he was "disturbed" that he heard people warning against questioning the link between human activity and climate change.

On Wednesday, at a hearing titled "using technology to address climate change," Brooks began by raising a broad question about rising ocean levels to the witness panel.

Phillip Duffy, president of Woods Hole Research Center, said in response to the question that "the last 100-year increase in sea-level rise, as I mentioned earlier, has clearly been attributed to human activities, greenhouse gas emissions."

Brooks interjected and rephrased his question again, asking if there "are other factors."

"What about erosion?" Brooks offered during the exchange. He added: "Every time you have that soil or rock, whatever it is, that is deposited into the seas, that forces the sea levels to rise because now you've got less space in those oceans because the bottom is moving up."

Duffy responded that he did not believe that explained sea-level rise.

"I'm pretty sure that on human time scales those are minuscule effects," Duffy said.

Brooks then moved to ice levels and asserted that Antarctic ice is growing, to which Duffy responded that satellite records have documented "shrinkage of the Antarctic ice sheet and an acceleration of that shrinkage."

Brooks wrapped up his questioning by saying he had heard differently from NASA, and said there were "plenty of studies" showing an ice sheet increase in Antarctica.

"I've got a NASA base in my district," Brooks said. "And apparently, they're telling you one thing and me a different thing."

A day after the hearing, the committee tweeted a link to an op-ed from The Wall Street Journal denying climate change caused sea-level rise.

According to NASA, Antarctica's ice sheets have lost mass since 2002.

The agency's site also said, "Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms."
 

bbgun

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What a dolt. Everyone knows liberal tears are responsible.
 

jsmith6919

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The real question is if this will hasten Guam tipping over
 

Smitty

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It's a valid question. Maybe the answer is "no" but it's not like its an ignorant question.

Like, is it any more unreasonable to say the answer is "ice melting"?

Anything on a large enough scale is what is going to cause it.
 

Cowboysrock55

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It's a valid question. Maybe the answer is "no" but it's not like its an ignorant question.

Like, is it any more unreasonable to say the answer is "ice melting"?

Anything on a large enough scale is what is going to cause it.
Not to mention what he really asked was about erosion. But no, saying the words erosion doesn't make him sound stupid enough, so we have to claim he asked if rocks were causing it.
 

lostxn

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Brooks then moved to ice levels and asserted that Antarctic ice is growing, to which Duffy responded that satellite records have documented "shrinkage of the Antarctic ice sheet and an acceleration of that shrinkage."

Brooks wrapped up his questioning by saying he had heard differently from NASA, and said there were "plenty of studies" showing an ice sheet increase in Antarctica.

"I've got a NASA base in my district," Brooks said. "And apparently, they're telling you one thing and me a different thing."

A day after the hearing, the committee tweeted a link to an op-ed from The Wall Street Journal denying climate change caused sea-level rise.

According to NASA, Antarctica's ice sheets have lost mass since 2002.

The agency's site also said, "Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms."
Yeah this guy is a genius. Why is it that conservatives in the US are literally the only group in any industrialized country that doubts global warming? Why are American conservatives so anti-science, so against education? It's weird.
 

BipolarFuk

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Yeah this guy is a genius. Why is it that conservatives in the US are literally the only group in any industrialized country that doubts global warming? Why are American conservatives so anti-science, so against education? It's weird.
They only want the elites to be educated.

The rest they want smart enough to take direction, but dumb enough not to think critically.
 

lostxn

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They only want the elites to be educated.

The rest they want smart enough to take direction, but dumb enough not to think critically.
Well they are doing it to themselves. This is willing ignorance.
 

Cotton

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Yeah this guy is a genius. Why is it that conservatives in the US are literally the only group in any industrialized country that doubts global warming? Why are American conservatives so anti-science, so against education? It's weird.
I don't doubt global warming. I think it's pretty evident. What is up for debate is why the earth is warming. The explanation that makes most sense to me is the earth has been slowing warming since the last ice age.
 

lostxn

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I don't doubt global warming. I think it's pretty evident. What is up for debate is why the earth is warming. The explanation that makes most sense to me is the earth has been slowing warming since the last ice age.
What a terrific opinion. Are you a climatologist? No? Ah well then... :picard
 

Cotton

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What a terrific opinion. Are you a climatologist? No? Ah well then... :picard
Never claimed it was an opinion of mine, just that it makes the most sense of what has been presented.
 

Angrymesscan

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Never claimed it was an opinion of mine, just that it makes the most sense of what has been presented.
And that is correct, well if you meant slowly, not slowing, but there's also the sharp increase in recent years where "slowing" (or slowly) doesn't apply as much...
 

Cowboysrock55

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What a terrific opinion. Are you a climatologist? No? Ah well then... :picard
Are you a climatologist? No? Ah well then... :picard

Also what happens if 2 climatologists disagree? Do we have to then take a vote on all climatologists opinions and accept the most popular? Just playing a little devils advocate here. Because you'll never get a pure consensus even among experts. This isn't like the earth being flat where we can conclusively say that it's not. Even if 99% of climatologists agree on the exact cause of global warming.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Cowboysrock55

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I'd say they are the ones paid off by big oil, ect....
Well shit, I'd think big oil could afford more than just 5%.

Of course we are talking about humans causing global warming. So 95% might not all be blaming it on big oil. They are just blaming it mostly on humans in some fashion.
 
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