I wanted to write you a Wednesday rap, but decided to stick to what I’m good at. Instead of rolling out these ecoright tidbits in smaller doses, consider this your one-stop, midweek shopping.
Today in the Senate, Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Susan Collins (R-ME), and John McCain (R-AZ) voted against taking up a disapproval resolution that would have rolled back a rule curbing methane emissions from oil and gas flaring, venting and leakage on public lands. The measure only received 49 votes in favor and the rule now stays intact.
Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke visited Dugout Ranch near Canyonlands National Park, where researchers are studying climate change. “I like science… we should manage on the basis of science,” Zinke, a geologist, said. He noted that human activity has had an influence on climate, but pointed to big questions: “Going forward is: What can we do about it? What is the best science away from the agendas?”
The nominee for the number two job at the State Department, lawyer John Sullivan, told a panel of senators at his confirmation hearing that he thinks the U.S. is “best served” keeping its seat at the international table by remaining a party to the Paris climate agreement.
Likewise, on Tuesday, former Secretary of State George Shultz and Ted Halstead, founder and president of the Climate Leadership Council, co-authored an op-ed in the New York Times making the Business Case for the Paris Climate Accord. “American business leaders understand that remaining in the agreement would spur new investment, strengthen American competitiveness, create jobs, ensure American access to global markets and help reduce future business risks associated with the changing climate. Leaving Paris would yield the opposite,” they write.
Stay tuned for more action as the week progresses.