Donald Trump's Head of the Environmental Protection Agency denied the basic scientific understanding that carbon dioxide emissions are the major cause of global warming. This is a big opposition to claims by scientists on climate change. This is something totally at odds with his own agency.
EPA head Scott Pruitt said in an interview that it is difficult to precisely measure the effects of human activity on climate change, The Guardian reported. Since there is significant disagreement in the factors, he didn't agree that carbon dioxide is the main contributor to global warming.
When Pruitt was attorney general of Oklahoma he frequently sued EPA, CNN reported. He was also constantly questioned on his unorthodox stand on environmental issues, especially on climate change. During a hearing, Pruitt said science reveals that human activity somehow impacts climate change.
The EPA even claimed that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities went up by 35 percent for 20 years from 1990 to 2010. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide, which is three fourths of the greenhouse gas emissions, also went up 42 percent during the same period.
The EPA's website states that carbon dioxide is the major greenhouse gas that contributes to the present climate change. This is even backed by NASA. It makes Pruitt's denial totally opposite to his own agency's stand.
CO2 traps heat and this is a fact that scientists know for so long. According to proven studies, atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has spiked by more than 75 percent since the industrial revolution due to deforestation and burning of fossil fuels.
Another study that proves how CO2 has contributed greatly to climate change is from the International Panel on Climate Change, which summarized the findings of 2,000 scientists in their report back in 2014. Scientist condemned Pruitt and his denial that CO2 is the major reason of global warming. Even former EPA head Gina McCarthy condemned him for his statements.
