During the Friday White House daily press briefing, CNN senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta berated EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on behalf of planet Earth: “Why, then, is the arctic shelf melting? Why are the sea levels rising? Why are the hottest temperatures in the last decade essentially the hottest temperatures that we've seen on record?
Pruitt retorted: “We’ve actually been in hiatus since the late 1990s, as you know.”
Unsurprisingly, Acosta was not going to let facts get in his way:
Sir, when NASA says that 95% of the experts in this area around the world believe that the Earth is warming and you are up there throwing out information that says, well, maybe this is being exaggerated and so forth, you talk about climate exaggerators, it just seems to a lot of people around the world that you and the President are just denying the reality and the reality of the situation is that climate change is happening and it's a significant threat to the planet.
Pruitt proceeded to explain that the United States has done a “tremendous” amount of work to reduce emissions and will continue to do so without harming America’s economy.
Acosta apparently suffers from a hearing disability and finished with: “You're putting your head in the sand though.”
The reality is that the science is far from settled and the proof is endless:
The Most Comprehensive Assault On 'Global Warming' Ever
REPORT: Earth Has Not Warmed For Past 19 Years
Fabricating Phony Climate Fear Over Sea Levels
And that is just a sample.
But regardless, the press is not supposed to take sides. Yet, they always do on behalf of the statist cause. Of course, Acosta is an experienced liberal media activist.
A more complete transcript of the June 2 back-and-forth is below:
White House Press Briefing
June 2, 2017
1:51 PM Eastern
JIM ACOSTA: Why, then, is the arctic shelf melting? Why are the sea levels rising? Why are the hottest temperatures in the last decade essentially the hottest temperatures that we've seen on record?
SCOTT PRUITT: We’ve actually been in hiatus since the late 1990s, as you know.
ACOSTA: Sir, when NASA says that 95% of the experts in this area around the world believe that the Earth is warming and you are up there throwing out information that says, well, maybe this is being exaggerated and so forth, you talk about climate exaggerators, it just seems to a lot of people around the world that you and the President are just denying the reality and the reality of the situation is that climate change is happening and it's a significant threat to the planet.
PRUITT: Let me say this and I said this in the confirmation process and I said it yesterday. I'll say it today [BEING INTERUPTED BY ACOSTA]. Let me finish. There is -- we have done a tremendous amount as a country to achieve reductions in CO2 and we have done that through technology and innovation. We will continue to do that. We will continue to stay engaged. We are a part, as you know, the U.N. CCC and that encourages voices by subnational groups and countries across the globe and we're going to stay engaged and try to work through agreements and achieve outcomes that put America's interests first. This is not -- this is not a message to anyone in the world that America is somewhat -- should be apologetic of its CO2 position. We're actually making tremendous advantages. We're not going to agree to frameworks and agreements that put us at an economic disadvantage and hurt citizens across this country. Yes, sir?
ACOSTA: You're putting your head in the sand though.
PRUITT: There's no evidence of that.
(…)
