Sceptical lawmaker brings snow from Capitol Hill into debating chamber in effort to prove climate change is a hoax
By Ed King
Winter snow proves global warming is not real, Republican senator Jim Inhofe told colleagues in the US Congress on Thursday.
Inhofe, chairman of the influential Environment and Public Works Committee, does not believe humans are contributing to climate change.
“In case we have forgotten, because we keep hearing that 2014 was the warmest year on record, I ask the chair, you know what this is? It’s a snowball,” he said. “So it’s very, very cold out. Very unseasonable.”
“Mr President, catch this,” he added, before throwing the snowball inside the chamber.
The US East Coast has been hit by a series of strong winter storms in the past few weeks, releasing over 40 cm of snow, closing government offices and grounding flights.
In response to Inhofe’s claims, Democrat senator Sheldon Whitehouse took to the floor brandishing an iPad, showing NASA’s Earth Now website, which he said explained the basics of climate change.
“You can believe NASA and what their satellites are measuring on the planet – or you can believe the senator with the snowball,” he said.
“The US Navy takes this very seriously to the point where Admiral Locklear, who is head of Pacific command, says climate change is the biggest threat we face in the Pacific.
“You can either believe the US Navy – or you can believe the senator with the snowball.”
Last month an overwhelming majority of senators voted in favour of an amendment stating that climate change was real, but only half said they thought humans were to blame.