If you had any misgivings about Donald Trump’s impact on climate change, look no further than the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s Twitter feed. The committee today retweeted a story from Breitbart, of all places, about the ‘myth’ of climate change.
Another group ‘dealing’ w/ climate change in a non-scientific way, along w/ the other green groups who value politics & emotion over facts https://t.co/PF5lrWyXBu
— Sci,Space,&Tech Cmte (@HouseScience) November 30, 2016
And it wasn’t the committee’s first.
The tweets compound the growing problem of a stat-adverse populace ignoring near-unanimous support in the scientific community surrounding climate change. It could be Trump himself that’s responsible.
As you might remember, it was Trump that shouted loudest during the campaign season about climate change. He even went so far as to label the phenomenon a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese, in a 2012 tweet. Trump, as Trump does, then denied making these claims during the final debate before the election.
The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 6, 2012
He’s since softened his stance, admitting there is “some connectivity” between humans and climate change. This undoubtedly appeased some, but it’s not a full reversal. If you need proof of that I’d direct you to comments since about keeping an “open mind” about pulling out of the Paris Accord, the landmark international agreement to fight climate change that Obama fought so hard for last year. Or, if that’s not enough, the appointment of climate change contrarian, Myron Ebell, to head our country’s largest environmental organization, the EPA, should lay any thoughts of a tree-hugging Trump to rest.
It’s not just the environment. The Trump administration poses a severe challenge to progress made by the previous administration on everything from education to net neutrality.
For every step forward, it seems Trump is determined to take two back.
Which brings us to Steve Bannon, arguably the President-elect’s largest step in the direction opposite of progress.
Bannon, the former chairman of Breitbart — a site he calls “the platform for the alt-right” — is now Trump’s chief strategist. The same man that was once responsible for headlines like the following:
- WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REPORT: TRANNIES 49 XS HIGHER HIV RATE
- BIRTH CONTROL MAKES WOMEN UNATTRACTIVE AND CRAZY
- THERE’S NO HIRING BIAS AGAINST WOMEN IN TECH, THEY JUST SUCK AT INTERVIEWS
- DATA: YOUNG MUSLIMS IN THE WEST ARE A TICKING TIME BOMB, INCREASINGLY SYMPATHIZING WITH RADICALS, TERROR
- GAY RIGHTS HAVE MADE US DUMBER, IT’S TIME TO GET BACK IN THE CLOSET
- SCIENCE PROVES IT: FAT-SHAMING WORKS
- THE SOLUTION TO ONLINE ‘HARASSMENT’ IS SIMPLE: WOMEN SHOULD LOG OFF
… is now Trump’s right-hand man in the White House — or will be on January 20.
Bannon now finds himself in a position of immense power. Unlike other fixtures in government, Bannon’s position is one that requires the trust, or at least the ear, of the President. The man in Trump’s ear about LGBT issues, immigration, education, equality, and issues of foreign and domestic importance once led a site that made liberal use of terms like ‘tranny’ and ‘faggot’ in headlines. The body content was, somehow, worse.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Breitbart is growing in both authority and its incendiary nature.
It’s also losing a number of revenue streams. A total of 46 ad networks have now pulled the plug on the Breitbart, saying they’ll no longer serve ads on the site for a litany of reasons ranging from misinformation to bigotry.
If you want to drain the swamp of the internet, Breitbart is the hair-collecting plug at the bottom of it.
If you think we’re in a precarious place, I’d just like to remind you that Trump doesn’t officially take office until January 20. All he’s done prior to stepping foot through the doors of the White House as our commander-in-chief, is a prelude; chapter one will begin shortly.
This is Trump’s America; the rest of us just live here.
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