Earlier this week, the White House released its National Climate Assessment, and, judging by the results of that assessment, things are looking pretty bleak for the environment. Particularly in South Florida.
Sea levels are on the rise, and South Florida is sinking.
But Sen. and presidential hopeful Marco Rubio has taken the same stance he took on the age of the Earth. Namely, he's dismissing scientific facts with political pandering and calling the president names.
See also: Marco Rubio Is Not Sure How Old the Earth Is
Rubio appeared on CNN this week and talked about the assessment and said that while he gets that the vast majority of scientists say climate change is man-made, it's also dangerous to run with what people who know better than anyone else are saying.
"I think it's an enormous threat to say that every weather incident that we now read about is -- or the majority of them are -- attributable to human activity," Rubio said.
Then Rubio took down Obama's plans to try to improve things to save the planet and keep Florida from sinking into the ocean.
"So that's where the president is. He's not a meteorologist," Rubio continued on CNN. "And here is what the president needs to be focused on and that is he is proposing a certain set of policies that he would have to admit, if questioned, will do nothing. If in fact the scientists are right and it's greenhouse gas emissions that are changing our climate, none of things he is proposing would do anything to change that whatsoever, but it would have a devastating impact on our economy."
Obama is no meteorologist, so maybe he shouldn't be implementing these plans based on advice from actual meteorologists because... ECONOMYTALK.
Among the things that nonmeteorologist Obama wants to implement: have more than 300 private- and public-sector clean job creations to help cut down carbon pollution with solar energy. He also wants to implement EPA regulations under the Clean Air Act to reduce greenhouse emissions from power plants.
Again, this is all to try to save Florida -- Rubio's home state -- from sinking in the next several decades.
The National Climate Assessment says that South Florida, in particular, is "exceptionally vulnerable to sea level rise."
Rubio's response to all this: "You know, listen, I think severe weather has been a fact of life on Earth since man started recording history," he says in the CNN interview.
Rubio's main argument (aside from woeful ignorance of the facts) is that the president's policies would impact the economy.
So, to recap: Rubio says he agrees that most scientists say climate change is man-made. Then he says the president is no meteorologist. Then he says the policies to clean the environment would have a devastating impact on our economy.
While Obama is no meteorologist, Rubio is clearly an economist.
All while ignoring that the Earth is as old as scientists say it is and ignoring the fact that doing nothing to help clean the environment would actually be even more devastating to the economy.
Some would call it ignorance. But it's most likely just more pandering. Because, Rubio 2016.
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