LamarSmith
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Climate change-denying House science chairman is retiring
Lamar Smith, the chairman of the US House of Representatives' Committee on Science, Space and Technology, has announced that he'll retire when his term ends next year. The Texas representative, an avid climate change denier, has been a controversial and, to many, an unwelcome head of the committee. During his tenure, he has published multiple opinion pieces on climate change, including some that claim it isn't a reality and others that state it's real but beneficial.
House science chairman thinks climate change is 'beneficial'
Forget the piles of peer-reviewed research accumulated by scientists over decades, climate change is actually great news for mankind. Or so says Texas Rep. Lamar Smith, the Republican head of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. In a baffling editorial titled "Don't Believe the Hysteria Over Carbon Dioxide", Smith complains that Americans are being brainwashed by "alarmists' claims" (read: scientific consensus) and urges readers to consider the many perks of atmospheric armageddon. For example, churning carbon dioxide into the environment is no biggie because plants love the stuff. "A higher concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere would aid photosynthesis, which in turn contributes to increased plant growth. This correlates to a greater volume of food production and better quality food," Smith writes, referencing uncited "studies" while ignoring reams of research that show any benefit would be canceled out by other climate factors, such as drought and temperature increases.
House Science panel opens new investigation into Clinton emails
Hillary Clinton already has the FBI and a Senate judiciary committee on her tail about her private emails possibly containing classified info, but now it looks like she has to face yet another inquiry on the matter. Two days ago, House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) opened a second congressional committee to investigate the security of those emails.
PIPA and SOPA votes pushed back in the face of overwhelming opposition
In the face of overwhelming opposition from just about every major technology company and the general public, the US Senate and House have decided to delay votes on the anti-piracy bills known as PIPA (Senate) and SOPA (House). Majority leader Harry Reid and Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith both announced that upcoming work on the acts would be delayed, "until there is wider agreement on a solution." While both have said that concerns over piracy must be addressed, it seems unlikely that they or any other politician will be rushing to revive the would-be laws after very public protests from Google and Wikipedia and the reported deluge of phone calls and emails that hammered offices at the capital Wednesday. The fight over intellectual property rights and fair use is far from over but, as the sibling bills face yet another delay, it's beginning to appear as if SOPA and PIPA's days are numbered
Lamar Smith: SOPA markup to resume in February
Thought the White House was able to put enough of smackdown on SOPA to kill the bill entirely? You thought wrong. We'd heard that the extremely controversial legislation would be delayed until a few concerns were ironed out, and according to House Judiciary Committee Chair Lamar Smith -- the author of the bill -- markup is expected to continue next month, as soon as both parties return from their retreats. Let's just hope that the "consensus" between Congress and the White House makes the bill look different than what we saw prior to the holiday break. Check out the full press release after the break.[Thanks, Brianna]
