Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler on Monday blamed the media for the public’s growing concern over climate change.
Wheeler gave a speech at the National Press Club praising the country’s efforts to fight climate change.
As he was rattling off statistics indicating that the U.S. has decreased its pollution levels, the EPA chief argued the press needs to help “fix” Americans’ “perception” that the environment is getting worse.
“I could go on with more stats and evidence of our nation’s progress, but my purpose in doing this is not to minimize the environmental challenges or threats that we face today. The press actually reminds me of that on a regular basis,” Wheeler said. “But the media does a disservice to the American public and sound policy making by not informing the public of the progress this nation has made.”
Wheeler did note that global carbon dioxide emissions have increased while touting that emissions in the U.S. have gone down.
The earth’s carbon dioxide levels are indeed at a record high, ocean levels are rising due to melting ice glaciers, and millions of people worldwide have been affected by extreme weather patterns caused by global warming.
And to top it all off, a new report by the Breakthrough National Center for Climate Restoration predicts that human civilization could collapse by 2050 if climate change isn’t stopped in time.
Watch Wheeler speak below:
EPA chief Andrew Wheeler asks the media to give the US better PR on climate change: "The media does a disservice to the American public and sound policy making by not informing the public of the progress this nation has made" pic.twitter.com/c8OhBDR8DW
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) June 5, 2019
H/t Yahoo News.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Wheeler acknowledged that global carbon emissions have increased.
