Thursday, March 28, 2013

Joe Romm — Cruz Gets Senate To Censor Innocuous Mention Of ‘Changes In Climate’ In Resolution For International Women’s Day

Gail Collins has a terrific piece in how the GOP used to be concerned about the environment, but now, not so much.
The whole column, “Cooling on Warming,” is worth reading, but one thing in particular caught my eye:
… earlier this month, a deeply noncontroversial Senate resolution commemorating International Women’s Day had to be taken back and edited because someone objected to a paragraph — which had been in an almost identical version passed in the last Congress — stating that women in developing countries “are disproportionately affected by changes in climate because of their need to secure water, food and fuel for their livelihood.”
You may be wondering who the objecting senator was. Normally, these things are supposed to be kind of confidential, but in this case the lawmaker in question is proud to let you know that he is — yes! — Ted Cruz of Texas.
“A provision expressing the Senate’s views on such a controversial topic as ‘climate change’ has no place in a supposedly noncontroversial resolution requiring consent of all 100 U.S. senators,” a Cruz spokesman said.
Note that the offending statement doesn’t even spell out what caused these “changes in climate.” It merely states that when such changes occur, women in developing countries are disproportionately affected. Kind of a “duh” statement.
But not for the Senator from drought-stricken Texas.
Climate Progress
Cruz Gets Senate To Censor Innocuous Mention Of ‘Changes In Climate’ In Resolution For International Women’s Day
Joe Romm

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