TX Gov. Abbott Apparently "Not A Scientist"; No Word If He'll Take Briefing Offered By Those Who Are

It was yet one more in the seemingly unending string of public episodes pitting a Republican politician against scientists on man-made climate change. Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who as attorney general had attacked climate science and fought Obama-era measures to counter climate-disrupting pollution, dodged a reporter’s question about whether he now thinks climate change helped cause Texas weather disasters in recent years.

Abbott replied, echoing a popular talking point deployed by other leading Republicans in recent years: “Listen, I’m not a scientist. Impossible for me to answer that question.” This week, 27 scientists and other authorities from leading universities around the state released a letter to Abbott, offering to brief him on climate science and the need for Texas to take “immediate action” to cut greenhouse pollution and adapt for “unavoidable” climate-change impacts:

We, the undersigned, are climate scientists and experts, and can report to you that climate change is happening, it is primarily caused by humans, and it is having a devastating impact on Texas, including increasing deadly flooding resulting from Hurricane Harvey.

TCN occasionally rounds up recent polling data to provide an updated looks at shifting public views of climate change. The exchange between the Texas governor and the Texas scientists offers a fitting occasion to do that again. Taken together, several recent national surveys by different polling organizations indicate public opinion continues to move in the scientists’ direction as opposed to Abbott’s currently noncommittal “I’m not a scientist” stance and record of opposing climate action. A pair of polls released in mid-December illustrate the point.

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http://texasclimatenews.org/?p=15867