Cindy Carr, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org
During the second day of Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) asked her if she has “opinions on climate change.” Barrett responded by saying she’s “not a scientist” and that she does not have “firm views on it.”
The climate crisis is one of the most pressing issues of our time, and 97% of scientists have reached consensus on its cause. Experts predict that the unprecedented hurricanes, droughts, and wildfires that have ravaged the United States have cost billions of dollars in damage this year alone. The Supreme Court is responsible for bedrock environmental laws like the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Court is already slated to hear at least one case on the climate crisis in the next term.
In response, the Sierra Club’s Democracy Program Director Courtney Hight said, “Any nominee who wants to be seriously considered for a lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land must - at a bare minimum - acknowledge and accept that climate change is real. It’s science, plain and simple.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.