Lauren Boebert Jokes About Climate Deniers During Colorado Drought Hearing

• Representative Lauren Boebert joked that she was not a climate denier, considering that she acknowledges that the climate changes with each season, during a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources.
• This group’s subcommittee on water, wildlife, and fisheries is looking for solutions on ways to increase water storage in Colorado.
• During the hearing, Boebert sought advice from Colorado River Water Conservation District General Manager Andrew Mueller on creating innovative solutions to the West’s fight against drought.
• Mueller responded that rising temperatures and hotter, drier summers mean Colorado streams that typically flow year-round have dried up.

Rep. Lauren Boebert joked during a House committee hearing that she’s not a climate change denier, given that she acknowledges weather changes in every season.

Boebert made the comment Tuesday during testimony by Colorado River Water Conservation District Chief Executive Andrew Mueller before the House Committee on Natural Resources. This group’s subcommittee on water, wildlife, and fisheries is looking for solutions on how to increase water storage and how best to actively manage Colorado’s forests.

According to a press release from Boebert’s team, the congresswoman was seeking advice from Mueller on creating innovative solutions to the West’s fight against drought. States in the Colorado River Basin have struggled with decreasing water allocation, especially in the lower basin. The press release says Boebert advocates rural water storage projects and supports other water storage initiatives, such as construction of the Bruce Canyon Reservoir.

Boebert, a Republican who represents Colorado, has angered climate change activists in the past, such as in 2021 when she introduced a bill to block President Joe Biden from getting the United States to join. the Paris Agreement. Boebert has previously criticized Biden’s cautious policies on fossil fuel use, saying he appeases environmental extremists. It also came under scrutiny after criticize Environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter during COP26, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference.

Boebert cracked the joke on Tuesday after expressing support for more water storage projects in his state and asking Mueller about the beneficial impacts of small-scale water storage options in Colorado.

“I am in favor of more water storage projects and federal government accountability,” she said. “I don’t think any of us are climate change deniers. I completely agree that the climate is changing. It happens four times a year. In Colorado, sometimes four times in one day.”

The joke appears to be a favorite of Boebert, who has used it verbatim several times in the past, including at the Heartland Institute’s International Climate Change Conference, held in February in Orlando, Florida. .

PatriotTakes, an anonymous Twitter account designed to expose “right-wing extremism”, according to his biography, tweeted his comments several days after the conference.

“Lauren Boebert: ‘Climate change is absolutely real. It happens 4 times a year, and we’re not surprised. In Colorado, it sometimes happens 4 times a day,'” PatriotTakes said. Tweeter said.

At Tuesday’s hearing, Boebert went on to say that being good stewards of the land means water management and conservation are paramount.

Mueller told the congresswoman that streams in Colorado that typically flow year-round have dried up. “Due to rising temperatures, hotter and drier summers and less snow cover, we have seen these rivers dry up,” he said.

mueller said Newsweek in an emailed statement that said rising temperatures associated with climate change have significantly affected the average annual flow of the Colorado River.

“According [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]since 1895, many of the 15 counties we represent have seen increases in average temperatures between 2.5 and 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit,” he said. “With this increase in temperatures, we have seen a corresponding drop in the flow of the Colorado River and its major tributaries in the State of Colorado by nearly 20%, which threatens the water security of our communities, agriculture and the leisure-based economy.

“Strong scientific evidence indicates that rising temperatures are the direct result of human activities, particularly carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere,” Mueller said.

Boebert’s press team said Newsweek in an emailed statement that “addressing drought in the West is one of the Congresswoman’s top priorities.”

The statement then went on to include some of his initiatives, including recent legislation Boebert drafted to gain direction from the Appropriations Committee for a pilot program from the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior to combat salt cedar infestations and of Russian olive trees in the West.

“These noxious weeds waste up to 200 gallons of water per day per plant,” the statement said. “Deputy Boebert worked extensively with Montezuma County on their innovative efforts to mitigate salt cedars, and she was an early supporter of their efforts that eventually became the model for exploring the national pilot program.”