Oklahoma Senator and leading American climate denier Jim Inhofe decided not to make a fool out of himself by attending the Durban climate talks in person. Instead, he decided to make a fool out of himself on video.
In a statement broadcast at a side event in Durban, Inhofe hailed the defeat of climate legislation in the U.S. and called for an end to Obama’s presidency “for the sake of my kids and grandkids.” He also claimed that the roughly 16,000 people attending the Durban climate talks “are being ignored.”
However, here on the ground at the climate talks in Durban, South Africa, I tried to find a single person who had heard about Inhofe’s video speech. I still haven’t found one person who knew or cared — if they even knew who he was at all.
Watch the video, if you can stomach it:
“The message from Washington to the U.N. delegates in South Africa this week could not be any clearer: You are being ignored. And you are being ignored by your biggest allies in the United States: President Obama and the Democratic leadership in the Senate.”
At around the same time Inhofe’s message was delivered, Barack Obama issued a video speech to a group of participants, in which he embraced the negotiations:
“Here in Durban, we can … grow our economies in a way that’s sustainable and that addresses climate change. In this you have the partnership of the United States. Delegates must remember her call in which she said: ‘We must not tire. We must not give up.’”
Bill and Hillary Clinton, UN Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, Anthropologist Jane Goodall and a range of other world leaders were also reiterating the same calls for support and action this afternoon.
Further isolating himself from the mainstream diplomatic and scientific community, Inhofe embraced his good friend Marc Morano, one of the leading cyber-bullies of climate scientists. Inhofe praised Morano, who has called for violence against scientists: “Good work, Marc,” he said.
Mark this one down. It is one of the most ignorant pieces of commentary ever published.
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That must have been one of the most revolting videos I’ve ever seen.
Everyone is going to suffer from this excuse for a man’s work.
Senator Inhofe just sent a clear message to future generations:
“You are being ignored.”
Inhofe embodies the ideological suppression of science. His delusional rhetoric is astounding.
Not “astounding” Richard, “profitable” is the word I think you were looking for.
Capitalism is the ultimate lowest common denominator process. Just when you think they’ve hit rock bottom, they plumb new depths. It is a mechanism for rewarding and promoting the worst people in society, so eventually we end up ruled by creatures such as this, and worse.
Tenney Naumer, the very act of watching this video is something that separates most deniers from people who accept the science. A denier is incapable of watching something that does not fit their world view. Not the most revolting video I’ve seen, but still up there.
I wonder if he gloats over the suffering his actions help cause.
Facts are more persistant than delusions. In the end, the facts will win.
Facts will win, but will they win in time to prevent massive suffering?
We could have had an almost seemless transition, That is long gone. We have probably missed the chance for a soft landing.
Land we will, but each year of delay increases the severity.
I’m not as hopeful as you. I expect the Right, when things are undeniably plain (have they not been so for years?) to simply go on denying, and, true to character, add a good deal of violent repression as well. Geo-engineering is certain, more neo-colonial wars unavoidable, and the heavy hand of repression in defence of the money interest already well-planned and ready for implementation. I think most people cannot bring themselves to honestly admit just how violent, destructive and hateful the global ruling elite really are.
Inhofe is Inhofe [surely] . . .
in true SNL form:
“Jim, you ignorant slut.”
Or in this case, a whore for the oil industry.
What a jackass.
That’s OK, on Oct. 22 grapefruit sized hail was reported at Union, Oklahoma. Embedded in a 71 mph straight line wind.
The Okies will be on the move soon.
The Okies will be on the move soon. Headed north with a Texan under each arm.
Adds another floor to the fall. Does not sound too bad until you use science to realize that gravity increases speed of the fall by the square of the distance. The “ouch” component as well.
Mr. Inhofe, the Senator from my home state of Oklahoma, wants me to believe the following:
1. On a planet where the climate is largely regulated by a very thin layer of gas we call the atmosphere, we can pump unlimited extra gas into it as we want with zero adverse affects on the climate.
2. There is a world-wide conspiracy by the scientific community to fool me into thinking that we can’t pump unlimited extra gas into the atmosphere even though we can.
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure.
Anti-environment, pro- short-term-profits over human needs type POLITICIANS are a SYMPTOM.
Such politicians are painful to watch, but they are a symptom.
We should spend most of our energy not on the symptom, but on the root causes, of this disease.
Yep, your right. Couldn’t stomach it. If I watched any more I’d throw my computer out the window. Need to watch some cat videos to calm me down.
I’m sorry, Senator, what were you saying?
People like Inhofe prove that we need carbon tariffs: to protect the energy intensive industries of countries with carbon prices, against the carbon-slacker countries.
Countries that actually try to do something to prevent climate change should not have to pay for it by losing their business to countries that don’t. How will e.g. the steel industry ever be motivated to become cleaner, if they can just produce their CO2 in countries where that is free?
.. and who knows: maybe people in countries like the US could be nudged towards better behavior by a little trade tariff based on the differential of carbon prices and the embedded carbon in products?