Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy’s constituents packed emotionally charged town hall meetings across the state during Congressā February break, a trend seen in other meetings with lawmakers around theĀ country.Ā
At Sen. Cassidyās first town hall in Denham Springs, which was ground zero for the 1,000 year flood that devastated parts of southern Louisiana last year,Ā the senatorĀ focused on flood recoveryĀ efforts.
While Sen. Cassidy mentioned that lowering greenhouse gas emissions would ātheoreticallyā be good for sea level rise, he failed to connect climate change to the regionās extreme floods. Instead, he praised President Donald Trumpās goals of bringing backĀ manufacturing jobs to the United States, which could then be powered by the nationās natural gasĀ reserves.
Aerial view of 2016 flooding in Livingston Parish, the Louisiana parish in which Sen. Cassidyās first of five town halls was held during the February 2017 CongressionalĀ recess.
āIf President Trump is successful in having industry move back to the United States, using our natural gas, renewables, and nuclear instead ofĀ Chinaās coal, that will dramatically decrease global greenhouse gas emissions,ā CassidyĀ said.Ā
Cassidyās statements mirror former President Obamaās claim that natural gas is a ābridge fuelā to cleaner energy sources, but evidence shows that natural gas production has a significant impact on the environment and is not a clean energyĀ source.Ā
Instead, leaking methane from natural gas development adds more climate pollution to the mix. The Obama administration passed the Methane Waste and Prevention Rule in November 2016 to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, but Congress is in the process of rolling back the new rule.Ā
āClearly the United States has made great efforts to decrease greenhouse gas emissions,ā Sen. Cassidy said,Ā but instead went on to cite successĀ in curtailingĀ the air pollutants from power plants and vehicles that lead to smog and acid rain,Ā as required by the Clean Air Act. He made sure to point outĀ thatĀ China does not have the same kind of protections, and its power plants continue to spew outĀ pollutants.Ā
Environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club, have expressed disappointment that Sen. CassidyĀ and Pres.Ā TrumpĀ areĀ encouraging further development ofĀ the fossil fuelĀ industry.Ā
āWe agree that America must invest in jobs and combat climate change, but, rather than doubling down on dirty fossil fuels that will onlyĀ exacerbate climate change, we should continue the investment in the fastest growing energy job market, clean, renewable energy,āĀ MelindaĀ Pierce, Sierra ClubāsĀ legislativeĀ director,Ā toldĀ DeSmog in an email. āCountries around the globe ā including China ā have made massiveĀ investments in this energy, while Cassidy and Trump continue to stand against clean energy jobs and climate action at everyĀ turn.ā
Sen. Cassidy talking to a worried constituent after the meeting who thanked him for taking questions from those who oppose hisĀ views.
Cassidy on ClimateĀ Change
After his first public meeting, I asked Sen. Cassidy if he thoughtĀ humans played a role in climate change. Instead of answering my question,Ā he spoke about the unfairĀ global marketplaceĀ resulting fromĀ ChinaĀ not havingĀ to abide by the same rules as other countries, insisting China āmakes almost no effortā to limit air pollutants, specifically sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, from coal powerĀ plants.Ā
(While it continues to struggle with air quality, China plans to cap its coal consumption by 2020, and is making great strides with solar energy, doubling its solar power capacity in 2016.)Ā
Each time I asked about climate change, Sen. Cassidy answered instead with a reference to sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides as if they were the top greenhouse gases contributing to current climate change rather than carbon dioxide andĀ methane.
In Denham Springs, Louisiana, on Feb. 21, 2017,Ā a FEMA trailer sits in front of a home that has not been restored since the 1,000 year flood the previousĀ August.
Sen. Cassidy was one of the sevenĀ senatorsĀ whoĀ asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to reconsider a new rule requiring states toĀ address climate change in disaster planning and preparedness as a condition for federal disaster mitigation grants. A letter they sent to FEMAĀ states:Ā āWhen it comes to the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events, there remains to be any indication or trend toĀ show there have been increases in their occurrence orĀ intensity.ā
In the letter, the senators went on to write that there are growing doubts about the conclusiveness of scientific research linking human activities to a warming climate and tying climate change to more severe weather. However, climate experts overwhelmingly recognize that humans are changing the climate and these changes are increasing the likelihood of extreme weather, from floods and hurricanes to heat waves andĀ drought.Ā
The crowd of protesters outside Sen. Cassidyās town hall in Metairie,Ā Louisiana.
Renate Heurich of the organization 350 outside Sen. Cassidyās town hall meeting in Metairie,Ā Louisiana.Ā
Renate Heurich, an organizer with the climate advocacy group 350, was disturbed that Sen. Cassidy still refuses toĀ acknowledgeĀ humansā role inĀ climate change. āIt is unfathomable thatĀ Cassidy,Ā a medical doctor, canāt make a clear statement about the human impact on climate change,Ā which is increasingly careening out of control,ā she told DeSmog.Ā Ā
āA medical doctor also has the scientific training needed to evaluate scientific data on climate change. My only explanation is willful ignorance andĀ cowardice so he can fit in line with his GOPĀ colleagues.
Sen. Cassidy, inside a town hall meeting at a public library inĀ Metairie,Ā Louisiana.
Though signs were forbidden in the town hall meetings, some snuck some in under theĀ radar.
In Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, onlyĀ a small fraction of those who showed upĀ toĀ Sen. Cassidyās second town hall meeting could getĀ into a public library room with a capacity for just over 200 people. As the meeting was coming toĀ a close, Sen. Cassidy tried to bring up climate change, but the crowd led him back towardĀ the topics ofĀ health care andĀ education.Ā
Sen. Cassidy having fun with the crowd in Metairie, Louisiana, which often was so loud that he couldnātĀ speak.Ā
Questioning Whether Trumpās EPA Will Protect VulnerableĀ Communities
Sen. Cassidy took questions from the press afterĀ bothĀ meetings. I pointed out that the Louisiana Environmental Action Network (LEAN) has had to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)Ā to compel it to enforce regulations in the past.Ā How wouldĀ Louisiana fencelineĀ communities fare underĀ EPA administrator ScottĀ Pruitt‘s leadership?Ā He expressed confidence that the EPA would continue enforcing existingĀ regulations.Ā
LEAN‘s director,Ā Marylee Orr, affirmed thatĀ over the last thirty yearsĀ her organizationĀ has had to āuse petitions and lawsuits to get the agency toĀ act on regulations or get them to move forward on an issue that was affecting a community.āĀ Ā
ManyĀ LEANĀ membersĀ live inĀ fenceline communities,Ā neighborhoods that border refineries and other industrial sites. āThey are deeplyĀ concerned that the EPAās new administrator has sued the agency 13 times on behalf of an oil and gas company,ā Orr said. āIt is no secret the Mr.Ā Pruitt championed the rights of ExxonMobilĀ Corporation.āĀ
āSenator Cassidy assures us there will be oversight, but when is the last time he convened a hearing about the EPAās enforcement ofĀ environmental laws?ā Ann Rolfes, director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade,Ā asked.Ā
āHe is sorely out of touch not only with his constituents, but also with hisĀ own neighbors in Baton Rouge. It would take him 15 minutes to cross town and meet people who live with serious air pollution every day. TheseĀ people are sick from Exxon and Honeywell’s pollution. As a physician and a human being he should take the situation seriously, and not pretendĀ that EPA is helpingĀ them.ā
Protester outside Sen. Cassidyās town hall meeting in Metairie,Ā Louisiana.Ā
Protester outside Sen. Cassidyās town hall with sign expressing concern about the potential gutting of the EPA by the TrumpĀ administration.
An activist identifying as a āwater protector,ā as inspired by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe against the Dakota Access pipeline, stands outside Sen. Cassidyās town hall in Metairie,Ā Louisiana.Ā
Main image: Louisiana Sen. Cassidy holds a town hall meeting with constituents in Metairie, a suburb of New Orleans.
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