A forest fire in Oklahoma. (Photo from Del City Fire.)
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) thinks he has our number.
Inhofe is convinced that his savvy refutations of global warming have pinned the environmental movement back on its heels. That his clever, amusing digs at climate change show that he’s a winner and we’re all losers. On Wednesday, he told his peers that “the global warming movement has completely collapsed,” surely crediting his infallible, rapier wit.
Here’s an example of how Inhofe plays his game. Yesterday, ThinkProgress picked up a photo from a TV station in Oklahoma City, submitted to them by a local resident, that claimed to show streetlights melting in the heat. It was quite a picture, and it quickly made the rounds. (I myself shared the link.) Turns out it wasn’t due to hot weather, but to a Dumpster fire (which should have been obvious).
But Inhofe, the cool jock in this high school full of environerds, seized on the mistake and ran with it.
Inhofe Exposes Another Epic Fail by Global Warming Alarmists
… These alarmists never learn their lesson. Remember Bill McKibben was the one who was going to melt a giant ice sculpture in the shape of the word ‘hoax’ on the national mall, but his group had to cancel because there wasn’t enough interest. Now, after proclaiming that street lights in Oklahoma are melting because of global warming, we have confirmation that a fire caused this scene.
Zing! Got us again! That wit is no doubt why you’re a United States senator! (Well, that and the $1.4 million in campaign contributions you’ve received from the oil and gas industry over your career.)
It bears pointing out, though, that the mistake didn’t originate from ThinkProgress. It came from KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, the place the photo originally appeared — and hardly a “far-left blog,” as he labels ThinkProgress.
It also bears pointing out that the core issue — the extreme heat in Oklahoma — is not diminished in the least by Inhofe’s football-spiking. Here, for example, an assortment of other stories KFOR currently has on its Facebook page.
- A look at how fast lake levels are dropping.
- A bridge buckled from the heat.
- A fast-burning wildfire in Geary, Okla., has been contained. Remember: There is a correlation between drought and wildfires.
- Tips on keeping electrical bills low due to all the A/C people are using.
- An “intense thermal” dust devil, caught on tape.
- Oklahoma City encouraging residents to let grass die, instead of using water. The city is under mandatory water restriction due to the heat and drought.
- Grass fires in Payne County.
- And, of course, the melting squirrel. (Seriously. Go look at this adorable thing.)
And that’s all in the last week. Wednesday was the hottest day in Oklahoma history. The Tulsa World is comparing the city’s heat to Saudi Arabia.
So, yeah. Well played, Senator. You really proved ThinkProgress wrong on those streetlights! And while you’re bopping around Washington, holding fundraisers and cracking wise, your constituents are watching how much water they drink and keeping a wary eye on smoke from forests in the distance.
You’re right. The photo of the streetlight doesn’t show any evidence that it’s hot out. But, it is. The heat is 100 percent real, as are the problems it’s causing. Laugh all you want. I think we all know what the real joke is.
