Dorgan maybe not done trashing climate before handing off to Hoeven

Previously we looked at Rick Berg. He is obviously in favor of climate-devastating pollution, but we cannot tell if we would merely be about as bad Pomeroy or whether he is out on the lunatic fringe either dismissing or calling a hoax the wide and virtually unanimous scientific agreement the climate change is a real threat that we should address.

Governor and Senate candidate John Hoeven paints a somewhat similar picture to Berg. Hoeven though at least acknowledges warming is occurring. But then he takes the cowardly out of saying, "There’s different opinions of exactly what’s causing it." Of course those opinions that human activities lead by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels are not the dominant driving force behind the current long-term warming trend are predominantly from people merely using some combination of political wishful thinking and scientific illiteracy. Again though it is unclear whether Hoeven actually is aware of this and that those other opinions should carry no weight and is simply playing politics with the climate or whether Hoeven is simply ignorant about the issue. Philosophical question - does it matter which it is?

Anyway, let us not forget however about Byron Dorgan who has not yet been replaced by Hoeven in the Senate. So Dorgan still has time to inflict more ecological debt and environmental damage. Dorgan made news (not that you would hear most anywhere, but still...) this week declaring again his potential willingness to continue to make excuses and postpone attempts to maintain the climate that civilization has known and loved.

Talking about the potential of amendments to appropriations bills that would block implementation of climate-protecting rules from the EPA, Dorgan said, "I'd like to see what amendments are offered, and I'll make a judgment about that. I do think that it makes sense to have some time here to have Congress make the ultimate decision rather than EPA."

Wait, 'have some time here to have Congress make the ultimate decision rather than EPA'? Where has Dorgan been the last 30 years? Oh yeah - in Congress doing approximately squat to seriously address climate change.

Another philosophical question like the one posed above - does it matter whether my Congressmen acknowledge climate change and that humans are driving it (and could avert some of the worst consequences) or whether they ignore or deny the issue if either way they do nothing?