Politics

112th Congress Most Anti-Environment Ever

February 21, 2013 by Corey 1 Comment

The League of Conservation Voters released its scorecard on the members of the 112th Congress of the United States and it is a very depressing read. (Link is a PDF.) What is really stark is how horrific Republicans continue to be on the environment. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, supporting Republican candidates means that you are supporting people who apparently hate birds, the environment, and nature.

I see nothing to argue about with this introduction, which would be funny if it wasn’t so scary:

From an environmental perspective, the best that can be said about the second session of the 112th Congress is that it is over. Indeed, the Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives continued its war on the environment, public health, and clean energy throughout 2012, cementing its record as the most anti-environmental House in our nation’s history. This dubious distinction is all the more appalling in light of the climate crisis unfolding around the world: much of the country experienced extreme heat waves and severe drought throughout the summer of 2012 while the Arctic sea ice reached its lowest extent on record. Hurricane Sandy brought even more devastation and destruction, and was followed by the news that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the United States.

This is what happens when know-nothings elect morons who oppose science because it doesn’t fit into their insane worldview. This is what happens when the creed of creationism is considered correct and evolution evil. This is what happens when large swathes of the public believe the propaganda put out by those who seek to continue to make money from fossil fuels instead of seeking to limit carbon emissions.

Will we leave anything for future generations?

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.