Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Republican Congressman Unveils Questionable Theory for Why Sea Levels Are Really Rising During Hearing on Climate Change

Republican Congressman Unveils Questionable Theory for Why Sea Levels Are Really Rising During Hearing on Climate Change
UNITED STATES - JULY 28: Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the Capitol on July 28, 2017. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

That's a new one.

Alabama Republican Representative Mo Brooks asked if rocks are causing sea levels to rise at a hearing by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology titled "Using Technology to Address Climate Change."

While questioning Philip Duffy, president of Woods Hole Research Center, about what, in addition to climate change, might be contributing to rising sea levels, Brooks interjected with his theory, which suggested erosion is the culprit:


Every single year that we’re on Earth, you have huge tons of silt deposited by the Mississippi River, by the Amazon River, by the Nile, by every major river system — and for that matter, creek, all the way down to the smallest systems. And every time you have that soil or rock whatever it is that is deposited into the seas, that forces the sea levels to rise. Because now you’ve got less space in those oceans because the bottom is moving up.

Brooks used the White Cliffs of Dover to support his theory, as well as California "where you have the waves crashing against the shorelines" and "you have the cliffs crash into the sea."

"All of that displaces the water which forces it to rise, does it not?" Brooks asked.

"I’m pretty sure that on human time scales, those are minuscule effects," Duffy replied.

Brooks then claimed that Antarctic ice is growing. Duffy countered that, saying that satellite records have documented "shrinkage of the Antarctic ice sheet and an acceleration of that shrinkage."

"I've got a NASA base in my district," Brooks said. "And apparently, they're telling you one thing and me a different thing."

But the NASA website notes that Antarctica's ice sheets have lost mass since 2002, and that "Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming: the added water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms."

The day after the hearing, the committee tweeted a Wall Street Journal op-ed denying that climate change causes rising sea levels.

Brooks' comments immediately garnered criticism.

"One lawmaker said temperatures were not rising, another brought up global cooling, and Mo Brooks suggested land erosion caused rising sea level on a global scale. These are all members of the Science Committee," wrote CNN's Andrew Kaczynski.

Retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly wrote: "Sad that some members on the science committee in the US House of Representatives don’t believe in science. @RepMoBrooks, I’m sure there is an open desk in a fifth grade classroom somewhere in your district."

"We need @BillNye to help out Rep. Mo Brooks and explain sea level rise," wrote one Twitter user, referring to the science educator and television personality."

Journalist Dan Rather also weighed in. "Climate change and resulting sea level rise is not fake news. And it can't be lost amidst all the other noise of our current news cycle," he said.

Others merely let the politician's words speak for themselves.

Speaking to CNN afterward, Duffy, who worked on climate change policy in the Obama administration, said that he expected skepticism from the committee and that he had never heard an explanation quite like the one Brooks provided.

"None of that is new," Duffy said. "They've been doing that forever."

Meanwhile, Jim Bridenstine, the new administrator of NASA, held a town hall at the agency's headquarters. Bridenstine had earlier come under fire during his Senate confirmation hearing for his past remarks denying climate change. This time, however, when questioned by a moderator, he appeared to have changed his mind.

"As far as my position on climate change and how it’s evolved, I’ll be very open,” Bridenstine said.

He continued:

I don’t deny that consensus that the climate is changing. In fact, I fully believe and know that the climate is changing. I also know that we humans beings are contributing to it in a major way. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. We’re putting it into the atmosphere in volumes that we haven’t seen, and that greenhouse gas is warming the planet. That is absolutely happening, and we are responsible for it.

More from News

Ted Cruz; Kelvin Sampson
Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images; Alex Slitz/Getty Images

Houston Fans Livid After Ted Cruz 'Curse' Strikes Again At NCAA Basketball Championship

In 2013, 2016 and 2021, Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was labeled the most hated man in Congress—by members of his own party. In 2023, Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz replaced him as the "most hated."

In a 2016 CNN interview, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said:

Keep ReadingShow less
Harriet Tubman
Library of Congress/Getty Images

National Parks Website Restores Harriet Tubman Photo To 'Underground Railroad' Page After Backlash

Following significant backlash, the National Park Service restored a previously-erased photo of Harriet Tubman from a webpage dedicated to the history of the Underground Railroad, in which she led 13 missions to rescue enslaved people.

A spokesperson said the changes were not authorized by the agency's leadership.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot from Fox News of Jackie DeAngelis and Tommy Tuberville
Fox News

Tuberville Now Claims 'Entire Men's Teams' Are 'Turning Trans' To Play Against Women

Alabama Republican Senator Tommy "Coach" Tuberville appeared on Fox News Sunday to again spread unhinged misinformation about transgender athletes.

Speaking with guest host Jackie DeAngelis, Tuberville stated:

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver/YouTube

John Oliver Epically Calls Out Awkward Truth Behind Former NCAA Swimmer's Anti-Trans Tirades

On Sunday's episode of Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, the outspoken host devoted the entire program to the attack on trans girls and women who play sports by the GOP.

Oliver began the program saying:

Keep ReadingShow less
man in front of computer code
Chris Yang on Unsplash

Conspiracy Theories That Seem Believable The More You Look Into Them

We tend to think of conspiracy theories as a phenomenon of the digital age. But the internet and mobile devices only allow them to be created and spread faster.

Conspiracy theories have likely been around as long as human civilization has. They are, at their root, just another form of rumors and gossip.

Keep ReadingShow less