14 Nov '17 19:24>4 edits
While I've included a link for those who refuse to watch YouTube, I URGE you to watch this exchange with Donald Trump's pick to head his environmental council. Reading about this woman simply cannot convey her stunning lack competence for this role. The video shows a different part of Hartnett's Whitehouse hearing from what's discussed in the article below.
YouTube : Kathleen Hartnett
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/09/trumps-nominee-to-lead-his-environmental-council-isnt-sure-whether-water-expands-as-it-warms/?utm_term=.6d2beb98c025
YouTube : Kathleen Hartnett
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2017/11/09/trumps-nominee-to-lead-his-environmental-council-isnt-sure-whether-water-expands-as-it-warms/?utm_term=.6d2beb98c025
Trump’s nominee to lead his environmental council isn’t sure if water expands as it warms
Kathleen Hartnett White was nominated by President Trump last month to lead his Council on Environmental Quality, the top environmental position within the White House. Under Barack Obama, the council’s initiatives included implementing sustainability efforts throughout the executive branch and establishing systems for addressing climate change.
Based on her testimony Wednesday during a confirmation hearing, it’s safe to assume that Hartnett White will not continue similar efforts.
Whitehouse asks two questions. The first is whether Hartnett White is aware of the extent to which oceans trap heat. This is a complicated question that is probably outside the awareness of a layperson. Whitehouse seems to believe that such a question — not a complicated one in the context of the issue of climate change — should be understood by the nominee to serve in the top White House environmental position.
Notice, though, that Hartnett White doesn’t say that she knows whether more than 50 percent of the heat trapped in the atmosphere has been stored in the oceans (the correct answer, of course, being that far more than 50 percent has). All she knows is that, whatever the answer, it’s contested. How it’s contested isn’t clear; all she knows is that it is. Her knowledge of the issue is limited to one data point: Uncertainty exists.
But when Whitehouse asks that question — does water expand when it’s warmer? — Hartnett won’t answer.
This is important in the context of climate change. Warmer seas mean higher sea levels, and higher sea levels mean more flooding and more damage to coastal real estate. Melting ice due to global warming will raise sea levels, but hotter seas will expand by themselves.