WASHINGTON -- Earlier this month, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) told a town hall that global warming "is a total fraud" perpetuated by people who "want to create global government to control all of our lives." Climate change, he said, has nothing to do with the wildfires that are currently ravaging his home state.
Climate activists pushed back on his climate claims on Twitter this week, prompting the congressman to launch into a torrent of tweets on the subject.
CREDO Action chronicled Rohrabacher's tweets, which include claims such as "History is filled with wildfires & droughts. 1930's was worse drought yrs. blaming this on CO2 is fraudulent" and "statistics indicate these natural maladies R no more frequent than in the distant pass which Exposes GWARMING fraud."
In response, CREDO launched an online campaign on Thursday calling on Rohrabacher to apologize to Californians who have been affected by the wildfires.
The Rim Fire is now the 6th largest wildfire in state history, and comes as the state is experiencing the driest year on record. Scientists have found that climate change exacerbates the conditions that fuel wildfires.
Rohrabacher, a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, has a long history of making bizarre claims about climate change. In 2007, he suggested in a committee hearing that "dinosaur flatulence" could be the cause of historic warming. In 2011, he suggested that chopping down rain forests might help cut carbon dioxide emissions. Last year he gave a speech on the House floor mocking young people who are concerned about the "lie" of global warming.
This piece has been updated to reflect new information on the size of the Rim Fire.
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