Sen. Tim Scott beholden to oil, gas and coal

As we search for an understanding of the purported reasons our chief executive chose to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement — an agreement that is, by all reputable polls/surveys, supported by a majority of Americans — there is little doubt as to the reason U.S. Sen. Tim Scott continues to cling to and promote the fallacious claim that global climate change is, as the chief executive has stated, “a hoax.”

According to Federal Elections Commission data, over the last two general election cycles, Scott received nearly $550,000 in known campaign contributions from the oil, gas, and coal industries.

Predictably, in late May, Scott joined 21 of his fellow GOP senators in signing/issuing a letter calling for “a clean break from the Paris Agreement.” This misguided effort by Scott should surprise no one, as he was simply acting from a position he had staked out in 2015, when he voted to reject a U.S. Senate amendment stating that “climate change is real and human activity significantly contributes to climate change.” In a recent nod to his carbon benefactors, Scott reaffirmed this position by voting “Yes” on opening the Outer Continental Shelf to oil drilling.

It is time for Scott to cast aside his inflexible and unjustifiable adherence to the demagoguery of the carbon industry and heed the message being delivered by the majority of his fellow Americans: We need to act now to save this damaged planet we call home.

This story was originally published June 9, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Sen. Tim Scott beholden to oil, gas and coal."