The Guardian reports:

Donald Trump’s interior secretary hasn’t “lost sleep over”, the record-breaking levels of pollution heating the planet, he told US lawmakers in an oversight hearing.

The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii observed carbon dioxide levels of 415 parts per million in the atmosphere on Friday – the highest ever documented.

Asked to rank his concern on a scale of 1 to 10, by the Pennsylvania Democratic congressman Matt Cartwright, David Bernhardt pointed to US climate progress.

“I believe the United States is number 1 in terms of decreasing CO2,” Bernhardt said.

Pushed to give a number, Bernhardt said: “I haven’t lost any sleep over it.”

The US has put more carbon pollution into the atmosphere than any other nation in history. China is currently the biggest emitter, and the US ranks second. Carbon emissions in the US actually increased last year. [Continue reading…]