“There’s never been a moment where the climate is not changing” – Marco Rubio
When questioned about the subject of climate change in May of last year, the Senator from Florida answered:
“I do not believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it, and I do not believe that the laws that they propose we pass will do anything about it, except it will destroy our economy.”
That seems like a clear stance.
“A devastating impact on our economy” – Marco Rubio
One year later on Sunday’s Face the Nation, Rubio’s thoughts on the subject seemed essentially unchanged:
“Humans are not responsible for climate change in the way some of these people out there are trying to make us believe, for the following reason: I believe the climate is changing because there’s never been a moment where the climate is not changing,” said Rubio.
“The question is, what percentage of that … is due to human activity?” Rubio continued. “If we do the things they want us to do, cap-and-trade, you name it, how much will that change the pace of climate change versus how much will that cost to our economy? Scientists can’t tell us what impact it would have on reversing these changes, but I can tell you with certainty, it would have a devastating impact on our economy.”
Again, that seems like a clear stance.
I like Rubio, and certainly appreciate his skepticism when it comes to man-made global warming.
But last week came this headline in the Huffington Post: “Marco Rubio Says He’s Fine With The Pope’s Climate Change Positioning.”
That headline has me concerned.
According to the Post, here’s what Rubio said:
“I have no problem with what the pope did. He is a moral authority and as a moral authority is reminding us of our obligation to be good caretakers of the planet. I’m a political leader and my job as a policymaker is to act in the common good. And I do believe it’s in the common good to protect our environment.”
“But I also believe it’s in the common good to protect our economy. There are people all over this planet and in this country who have emerged from poverty in large respect because of the availability of affordable energy,” he argued. “It creates industries. It makes the cost of living lower. And we have to take that into account as well.”
Is Rubio waffling on climate change? I prefer to think he’s simply trying to widen his base.
But I’m going to keep watching.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/23/marco-rubio-climate-change_n_7648446.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/11/rubio-climate-change_n_5305082.html
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/05/sen-marco-rubio-yes-im-ready-to-be-president/
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