House Democrats hold one last climate hearing before Republican takeover

The U.S. House of Representatives welcomed climate scientists to Capitol Hill for one last climate change hearing before Republicans gain control of the House. "Republican Rep. Ralph Hall of Texas, in line to take the committee gavel next year, wasted no time in declaring that 'reasonable people have serious questions about our knowledge of the state of the science, the evidence and what constitutes a proportional response,'" Lauren Morello of Environment & Energy News reports. Democrats described the event as a "rational discussion."

The hearing amounted to little more than "Climate Science 101" as climate skeptics invited by Republicans sparred with the climate scientists, Morello writes. "The science is very clear," Richard Alley, a glaciologist at Pennsylvania State University, told Morello. "The science says the ice is melting -- almost everywhere, and almost all of it -- consistent with warming. ... We see ice shrinking because it's getting warming, and when you estimate warming by looking at how much the ice is shrinking, it agrees with the thermometers."

South Carolina Republican Representative Bob Inglis did not mince words in his predictions of what a Republican-controlled House will mean for climate science. "I encourage the scientists that are listening out there to get ready for the hearings that are coming up in the next Congress," he said. "Those will be difficult hearings for climate scientists. But I would encourage you to welcome those as fabulous opportunities to teach. Don't come here defensively. Say, 'I'm glad to have an opportunity to explain the science.'" (Read more, subscription required)