Adam Beitman, adam.beitman@sierraclub.org or 202-670-5585
Washington, D.C. -- White House Homeland Security Advisory Tom Bossert, when pressed on the increased severity and frequency of Hurricanes by a White House reporter, just told the American people that “We continue to take the climate change seriously, not the cause of it, but the things that we observe.”
This statement stands in stark contrasts to the actual actions taken by this administration, including repeated efforts to defund climate change research, censorship of the term “climate change” throughout the federal government, the appointment of climate deniers to the highest posts in the Administration, and the elimination of President Obama’s flood risk rule just weeks before Hurricane Harvey hit.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders subsequently deflected questions about whether Trump would re-consider his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement in light of the unprecedented Hurricane activity this year. Sanders responded, in absurd fashion, that the U.S. would continue be the a world leader on environmental issues despite withdrawing from the historic climate accord which took decades for the nations of the world to reach. The U.S. currently stands alongside only war-torn Syria and Nicaragua, which wanted it to be even stronger, in not committing to the accord.
In response, Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune Released the following Statement:
“Donald Trump's denial of the climate crisis is a deadly threat to this country. Trump hasn't just utterly failed to take the climate crisis seriously - he has been working to worsen it by trashing any policy that helps us prepare or act on this clear and present danger. Trump called the climate crisis a hoax as millions fled record hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. The climate crisis has made extreme weather exponentially deadlier and more dangerous, and the costs of this administration’s denial and inaction are too high."
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