As the fall chill begins to take hold of many parts of the country, at least one Republican presidential candidate is pointing to the dropping temperatures as proof that global warming does not exist.
According to Trump, the recent cold weather snap disproves the existence of global warming. But meteorologists disagree.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration actually says global warming increases the severity of winter storms. Despite the routine drop in temperature this week, 2015 is still on track to be the warmest year on record.
“[T]he historical data suggest it would take a remarkable and abrupt reversal in the NOAAGlobalTemp time series over the remainder of the year to upend 2015’s drive toward record-breaking status,” NOAA scientists wrote last month. “In other words, it appears extremely unlikely that 2015 will lose its commanding lead.”
Trump is certainly not the only the GOP presidential candidate to express skepticism about the climate change. Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, Rick Santorum and Ted Cruz are some of the 2016 contenders who have denied the human contribution to global warming and refute the existence of climate change.
"If you look to the satellite data in the last 18 years there has been zero recorded warming,” said Cruz. “Now the global warming alarmists, that's a problem for their theories. Their computer models show massive warming the satellite says it ain't happening. We've discovered that NOAA, the federal government agencies are cooking the books.”
It is no surprise why Republican candidates trying to appeal to conservative voters have been quick to dismiss global warming. A Gallup poll released earlier this year found that a majority of Republican voters believe global warming will never happen, and that humans do not cause temperatures to rise. Less than four in ten Republicans (37%) believe they’ll see the effects of global warming in their lifetime, according to the study.
However, a number of Republican hopefuls attempting to appeal to the more moderate members of the party’s base have acknowledged the existence of global warming. Chris Christie, George Pataki, John Kasich, and Lindsey Graham have all acknowledged humans’ impact on the environment.
“I believe manmade emissions are hurting the environment,” Graham said in an interview with NBC’s Chuck Todd. “The best way for a Republican to fight on this issue is the solution, not argue with the science. I think the science is sound. And at the end of the day, ask my competitors: ‘What is the environmental policy of the Republican party?’”
