Congressman Presents the Most Bizarre Explanation for Climate Change

There are a number ludicrous counter-theories going around by climate-change deniers who believe that global warming is a hoax. But the most pathetic attempt at trying to explain the cause behind rising sea levels comes from a congressman – Republican, of course – who thinks that it’s the rocks falling in the oceans which is causing the sea levels to rise.

One Republican congressman, Mo Brooks, said during a climate change hearing that rocks falling in the ocean could the reason behind rising sea levels

Republican’s Strange Climate Change Theory

No one had heard about the plain-spoken Republican congressman, Mo Brooks, who became somewhat of a celebrity this week after he presented a bizarre theory on climate change in the House Science Space and Technology Committee. Sadly, since the politician holds a seat in the important committee, he can float around the ridiculous idea that rocks falling in the oceans are the reason behind rising sea levels – not climate change. We wonder what’s his explanation for rising global temperatures.

The incident occurred this week during an exchange between Brooks and a witness on the issue of climate change and rising sea levels. Instead of accepting the fact that it’s the rising temperatures caused by global warming which is melting the ice, the congressman offered another culprit. He asked if there was a possibility that rock and soil deposits in the oceans are the cause behind increasing water levels.

A local news reporting agency recorded Brooks’ comments and broadcasted them on their news channel along with others’ who were present at the hearing. One Republican Representative, Dana Rohrabacher, even said that he found it disturbing that people are not allowed to question humans’ role in climate change.

Brooks presented his novel theory at a hearing on Wednesday which addressed the issue of climate change using modern-day technology

Researchers Shocked by Brooks’ explanation

Brooks presented his novel theory at a hearing on Wednesday which addressed the issue of climate change using modern-day technology. The witness panel was shocked to hear what the congressman had to say to justify rising ocean levels. One of the witnesses, Philip Duffy, the lead researcher at Woods Hole Research Center, told brooks that his theory was utterly false. Duffy said that there is no doubt that the rising sea levels observed in the past century are because of pollution caused by human activities.

Upon the witness panel’s pushback, Brooks quickly rephrased his question and asked if there was a possibility that factors other than human activity could be playing a role in climate change. In an exchange with Duffy, Brooks asked if erosion from rocks is a plausible explanation for the crisis. In explanation to his theory, the congressman said that whenever rock or soil is deposited in the ocean, the bottom rises slightly, leaving less space for the water.

In response, Duffy said that he had never heard this theory before – probably because of how stupid it sounds, especially coming from a member of the House Science Space and Technology Committee. The researcher said that soil and rock deposit in the oceans isn’t a new phenomenon and had certainly been happening before the industrial revolution. It isn’t just a coincidence that climate change has accelerated ever since humans started emitting greenhouse gasses through the burning of fossil fuels and natural energy resources.

NASA’s website says that the mass of ice in Antarctica has decreased significantly since 2002 due to rising global temperatures

Congressman Also Claimed that Ice Levels are Growing

After his rock theory, Brooks tried to assert that ice levels in Antarctica are growing but his claim was completely unfounded since satellite records have shown that the ice sheet in both poles is shrinking at an alarming rate. When researchers on the panel told him that he needed to do his homework before making uninformed claims, Brooks said that he had gotten his information from NASA scientists who told him that Antarctic ice levels are increasing. He said, ‘They (NASA) are telling me one thing and you a different thing.’

Even after the hearing, the science committee cited an op-ed from The Wall Street Journal which claimed that climate change is a hoax. However, NASA’s website says that the mass of ice in Antarctica has decreased significantly since 2002. The agency further explained that rising global sea levels can only have two explanations: expansion of water molecules due to increasing temperatures and the melting of glaciers and ice (also caused by rising temperatures).