President Barack Obama used his visit to Yosemite National Park on Saturday to tout his administration’s environmental record and to warn Americans about the dangers of climate change — albeit with false information.
“Fires are raging across the west right now … all while it’s still really early in the season,” he said in a speech at the park, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Obama joins California Governor Jerry Brown in making a spurious connection between wildfires and climate change that scientists have long since rejected.
As Breitbart News noted in October:
Scientists are rebuking California Gov. Jerry Brown over his attempt to link recent California wildfires to climate change. (Even more remarkably, the Los Angeles Times is reporting it.)
As Breitbart News reported in August, Brown blamed climate change for the Rocky fire in August, and specifically challenged Republican presidential candidates to tackle climate change in the context of “Longer fire seasons, extreme weather and severe droughts.” …
However, scientists say Brown is wrong and that the scientific evidence does not link recent fires to climate change.
Scientists accused Brown of engaging in “noble-cause corruption” of climate science.
While fires could become more likely in the future, the link in the present has not been established. False statements like the president’s could, they warn, lead to inappropriate policies.
The president’s statement was only the latest example of climate change hysteria from the president. Earlier this month, he warned that Manhattan would be “underwater” unless action was taken soon on climate change. (Scientists say that some portions of Manhattan could experience flooding, but not the entire island, even under the most catastrophic models.)
Obama also touted his administration’s record in expanding public lands and taking regulatory actions, including enforcing the Endangered Species Act (which many Californians blame for overzealous protection of the Delta smelt at the expense of water allocations to farmers).
He said that every child should have the chance to visit a national park, citing his own childhood visit to Yellowstone.
Obama’s trip to Yosemite –the first by a sitting president since John F. Kennedy in 1962 — thrilled some visitors, but frustrated others: the White House asked tourists to avoid entering the park between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. during his Saturday hike and speech.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and holds a degree from Harvard University in environmental science and public policy. His new book, See No Evil: 19 Hard Truths the Left Can’t Handle, will be published by Regnery on July 25 and is available for pre-order through Amazon. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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