Trump’s Pick for Agriculture Secretary Is a Climate Denier, Too

Sonny Perdue wrote in 2014 that “ridiculous” climate warnings have become a “running joke.”

It appears to be a recurring theme among President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees:  climate skepticism. 

Former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue (R), whom Trump named Thursday as his nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has continued that trend.

Perdue, 70, is well known for leading a prayer for rain to end a drought in Georgia in 2007, but his record of adherence to questionable environmental science doesn’t stop there.
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Perdue’s stance on climate change — which appears to be in line with Trump’s nominees to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Interior Department and Department of Energy — is important because the agriculture industry both contributes to the problem and bears the brunt of its consequences.

About 9 percent of the nation’s total emissions can be directly linked to agriculture, according to the latest EPA figures.  These emissions come from livestock, which produce methane, and soil management practices, such as the use of fertilizer and tillage, that emit nitrous oxide.

Looking at the problem through an international lens, the problem is more significant.  The World Resources Institute estimates that 13 percent of global emissions can be linked to farming, and that appears to be on the rise.

Read more at Trump’s Pick for Agriculture Secretary Is a Climate Denier, Too