Scott Pruitt
© Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Democratic members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee boycotted the February 1 vote on President Donald Trump's pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency largely because of the nominee's position on climate change.

For example, Committee member Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) explained that he opposed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt's candidacy because he "denies the sum of empirical science and the urgency to act on climate change."

Considering the vast uncertainty in this field, arguably the most complex science ever tackled, Pruitt's position is actually very 'progressive.' Rather that trying to restrict discussion about the underlying reasons for expensive climate change mitigation policies, now costing $1 billion a day worldwide, Pruitt has called for open debate about the issue.


Comment: Trump's nominee to EPA says human impact on climate change 'needs more debate'


It is the Democrats and their activist allies who, reminiscent of the 13th century Spanish Inquisition, are intent upon censoring what they regard as scientific heresy. They have apparently forgotten that real science is all about skepticism and constant re-examination of old theories.

Writing in the National Review in May 2016, Pruitt explained his position:
Healthy debate is the lifeblood of American democracy, and global warming has inspired one of the major policy debates of our time. That debate is far from settled. Scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind. That debate should be encouraged — in classrooms, public forums, and the halls of Congress... Dissent is not a crime.
The reason such a rational, balanced approach has come to be regarded by Democrats as extreme, and therefore unacceptable for an EPA administrator to hold, is that they assume that the science of climate change is 'settled' in favour of the position they hold dear.


Comment: U.S. Senators trying to muzzle climate change skeptics


But they are mistaken. As demonstrated by thousands of peer-reviewed papers in leading science journals highlighted by the Nongovernmental International Panel on Climate Change, there is a broad range of scientific opinion on this issue. Indeed, much of what we thought we knew about climate is now regarded as wrong or highly debatable.