Raise your hand if you’re still full from Thanksgiving! Truth be told, I need a mashed potato do-over after being bullied into reducing the amount of butter I usually use in my favorite side dish.
On to the news:
Gaetz tweets climate position: The bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus’s latest GOP member, Florida’s Rep. Matt Gaetz, who earlier this year called for the elimination of the EPA, took to twitter to defend his stance on climate change.
Hey @AriannaSkibell – can I get a couple corrections in your story? (1) I hate Led Zeppelin (2) this: pic.twitter.com/bacl15gdIB
Matt Gaetz (@mattgaetz) November 28, 2017
The freshman lawmaker went on to answer more specific questions on where he stands, indicating “the judgement of history” motivated him to join the caucus. “My time in congress is not best spent standing around arguing with a thermometer.” While he doesn’t think a carbon tax will “solve climate change” he’d like to focus on “solutions that improve energy efficiency through innovation.”
Former GOP gov calls for Pruitt dismissal: Former New Jersey Gov. Thomas H. Kean, who co-chaired the 9/11 Commission, wrote an op-ed published in the New York Times calling on President Donald Trump to fire EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. “The current administrator of the EPA, Scott Pruitt, built his political career by attacking clean-air and clean-water rules. Now in charge of the agency, he is tearing down those protections, dismantling the EPA, appointing or nominating industry insiders to oversee their former businesses and blocking scientific input. For the sake of our children’s health, it’s time for Scott Pruitt to go.”
Trump supports Kigali amendment: The Trump administration gave its approval to a critical amendment to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty created 30 years ago to address the hole in the Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out harmful CFCs. The Kigali amendment phases down emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a powerful greenhouse gas used in many appliances from air conditioners to refrigerators. “The United States believes the Kigali Amendment represents a pragmatic and balanced approach to phasing down the production and consumption of HFCs, and therefore we support the goals and approach of the Amendment,” said Judith Garber, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. This support is seen as a victory since HFC emissions contribute to climate change.
And now, on with the day and more good work!