In a shameless demonstration of feigned ignorance and pandering, some climate-change denying Republicans, like Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, and Speaker John Boehner, have sneered their way through public pronouncements about global warming that belong less in a press conference on Capitol Hill and more in a scene from a raunchy bro flick.
A few years ago, Rohrabacher did himself and his state proud when he joked about past temperature variation and “dinosaur flatulence.” Boehner, not wanting to be outshone by Rohrabacher on the global-warming sneer scale, joked that cows doing “you know, when they do what they do you’ve got more carbon dioxide.”
Well, the joke’s on the not-so-eminent Speaker. Boehner’s gaseous cows and America’s bloated, industrialized beef industry turn out to be central players in global warming. In fact, those with more serious and disciplined minds than the Representative’s and the Speaker’s—you know, real scientists conducting real scientific studies—have released some startling conclusions. If you can stop laughing long enough, take a look at a video recently released by the Center for Investigative Reporting.
A note to meat eaters out there: The next time your longing for a greasy burger sends you out to your local junk-food emporium, perhaps you’ll recall what you see here and toss together some beans and veggies instead.