Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Trump's attack dog on climate

In the seven weeks since reporters confirmed that climate-change skeptic Myron Ebell would be the head of President-elect Donald Trump's EPA transition team, environmental websites have lit up with worry, and reporters have started to unpack the views of someone referred to as a “climate contrarian” and free-market “public-policy wonk.” It’s true that Ebell has inhabited the think tank world, working for almost two decades at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and frequently appearing on TV to attack the mainstream consensus that man-made global warming is a threat to the future of the planet. But a close look at Ebell’s record paints the picture of a different kind of operative, one more clearly in line with Trump’s bomb-throwing approach to setting up a new administration. For a person with a role at a think tank, friends and foes alike say Ebell isn’t particularly well-versed in the intellectual side of the debate. His role, instead, has largely been an outside agitator attacking politicians who look like they might be going soft on environmental issues—especially Republicans. Today, Ebell, at age 63, is rumored to be a candidate to run the EPA, the main agency tapped with keeping America’s environment safe and protecting the health of Americans. That possibility has provoked an outpouring of opposition against his nomination: An online petition to stop him from leading the EPA transition team has garnered almost 50,000 signatures. Much of that criticism has centered on Ebell and his employer’s position on climate change. He is the director of the center for energy and the environment at CEI, an industry-funded think tank that promotes climate-change skepticism. From that perch, he has railed against the science behind global warming, attacking the motives and competence of the world’s leading climate researchers...more

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