Our latest quarterly update on the state of the U.S. during the Biden presidency.
Biden’s Numbers, April 2024 Update
Issues: carbon dioxide
Electric Vehicles Contribute Fewer Emissions Than Gasoline-Powered Cars Over Their Lifetimes
Q: Are electric cars really better for the environment than gasoline-powered cars over their lifetimes?
A: Yes. Electric vehicles typically release fewer greenhouse gas emissions than internal combustion engine vehicles during their life cycles, even after accounting for the increased energy required to make their batteries. And their carbon footprints are expected to get smaller in the near future.
Biden’s Numbers
Statistical measures of the president’s term to date.
America Not ‘Cleanest We’ve Ever Been’
In response to a question about climate change, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the United States was “the cleanest we’ve ever been.” Data from a variety of sources show that while the country has made strides in the last decade, its carbon dioxide, or CO2, emissions are far from their lowest point.
The president’s comments came on Nov. 26 after he was asked by a journalist about the latest National Climate Assessment.
CO2: Friend or Foe to Agriculture?
Rep. Lamar Smith said climate change “alarmists” ignore the “positive impacts” of more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, such as increased food production and quality. But the impact of increased CO2 levels on agriculture is more complicated than that — and, on balance, likely negative, particularly in the future.
Pruitt on the Paris Accord
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt made two false claims about the Paris Accord, a global agreement aimed at addressing climate change.
Pruitt on Climate Change, Again
The head of the EPA told CNBC that he “would not agree” that “human activity,” or carbon dioxide emissions, is the “primary contributor” to global warming. But scientists say it’s “extremely likely” that human activity is the main cause of warming since the mid-20th century.
FactChecking the CNBC Debates
Republicans make false and misleading claims on jobs, taxes and entitlements in economic-focused debates.
Santorum’s Science
Rick Santorum calls global warming a “hoax.” If he were a scientist, he would be in a small minority.
“The dangers of carbon dioxide? Tell that to a plant, how dangerous carbon dioxide is,” Santorum said at the Gulf Coast Energy Summit in Biloxi, Miss., on March 12. He made similar comments in early February in Colorado Springs, Colo., saying that global warming was a “hoax” and that “man-made global warming” and proposed remedies were “bogus.”
Deceitful Attacks from the League of Women Voters
New ads accuse two senators of endangering children's lives by voting to allow asthma-causing "emissions" to be released from smokestacks and tailpipes. But in reality, all that the senators voted to curb was the government's attempt to regulate carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gasses, which have no direct connection to asthma, and an indirect connection that is a matter of debate in the medical community.
The League of Women Voters said April 29 that it would put at least $1 million behind its "ad blitz"