Rick Santorum made two false claims regarding the scientific consensus on climate change in an interview with HBO’s Bill Maher.
Santorum’s Climate Consensus Claims
SciCheck
FactCheck.org’s SciCheck feature focuses exclusively on false and misleading scientific claims that are made by partisans to influence public policy. It was launched in January 2015 with a grant from the Stanton Foundation. The foundation was founded by the late Frank Stanton, president of CBS for 25 years, from 1946 to 1971.
Fiorina’s Fuzzy Vaccine Claims
Carly Fiorina said some unnamed vaccine-preventable diseases are “not communicable” and “not contagious.” Every immunization recommended by the CDC covers a highly communicable disease.
The Bear Facts
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has said at least twice that climate change is causing bears in the Sierra Nevada mountains to change their hibernation patterns. There is no evidence that climate change is actually having such an effect.
Huckabee’s Hot Air on Volcanoes
Mike Huckabee claimed that a single volcanic eruption “will contribute more than 100 years of human activity” toward global warming. This is far from accurate.
Unspinning the Planned Parenthood Video
The full Planned Parenthood video shows an executive repeatedly saying its clinics want to cover their costs, not make money, when donating fetal tissue from abortions for scientific research.
The EPA Will Not Regulate Your Barbecue
A Republican congressman says the Environmental Protection Agency wants “to stop you and I from grilling,” and he has proposed legislation that would prohibit federal regulation of backyard barbecues.
Fiorina Shortchanges Marijuana Research
In questioning the value of medicinal marijuana, Carly Fiorina said “we don’t understand how it interacts with other drugs.” In fact, there is information about marijuana’s interactions with other medications.
Muddying the Clean Water Act
Kentucky Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell misrepresented cases involving the Environmental Protection Agency and the Clean Water Act.
Cruz Misses Mark on Endangered Species
Ted Cruz said that “one of the worst things that can happen to a species is to be listed on the Endangered Species Act.” But the ESA has led to recovery of a number of species, and there is little evidence that listing harms animals and plants.
Clearing Up Claims on EPA Fracking Study
The Environmental Protection Agency released the draft of a long-awaited study on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing — fracking — for natural gas on drinking water, and individuals on both sides of the debate have misrepresented the study’s findings.