Lamar Smith, Climate Liar, Spent A Week In Greenland, AK This May - Asked For Secrecy Re. Trip [View all]

[hatrack]

Lamar Smith, one of the most vocal critics of climate science in Congress, led a secret trip to the Arctic in May, BuzzFeed News has learned. He and at least eight other US representatives, mostly members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, met with scientists working on the front lines of climate change.

It had the potential to be an awkward or even hostile visit. As chair of the science committee for the past four years, Rep. Smith of Texas has waged a public war with federal climate scientists, or “so-called self-professed climate scientists,” as he called them in March. He’s challenged their research and integrity, repeatedly subpoenaed their emails, and voted to gut their funding.

Billed as an oversight visit for the science committee, the May 8–14 trip included a series of closed-door sessions for the politicians to inspect facilities and learn about federally funded science conducted at research hot spots in the Arctic Circle, as well as social events for the lawmakers and their families. No one publicized the visit, and some scientists told BuzzFeed News they were instructed not to talk about it.

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(Ed. - Democratic Representative Jerry) McNerney said that he and Smith discussed the economic obstacles to curbing global warming. “He believes you can’t do anything if it’s going to hurt the economy," McNerney said, referring to Smith. Smith was reportedly no less inquisitive in the Arctic than he is when presiding over his infamous congressional hearings, though the scientists said there were no tense moments. “It was positive, I can say that,” said a researcher on the trip who requested anonymity for fearing of getting in trouble. “We were asked not to publicize the tour. I want to be careful not to overstep.”

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https://www.buzzfeed.com/zahrahirji/lamar-smith-tours-the-arctic?utm_term=.qtbAvn3VP#.ajDmgN37R