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Rick Perry Responds to Criticism on Climate Change Comments

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WASHINGTON – Energy Secretary Rick Perry says there's nothing wrong with asking questions about some of the science surrounding climate change.

In an interview with CBN News, he responded to the critics knocking him for comments he made about the main cause of global warming.
 
"We'll I just say, hey listen, nothing wrong with being a skeptic," he said. "I think when you're skeptical about things in a totally honest, straightforward way, to say, 'Are we really sure about these numbers? Are we really sure about the effect and impact?'… I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
 
The criticism stems from an interview Perry did on Monday with CNBC "Squawk Box" host Joe Kernen.
 
He told Kernen that carbon emissions are not the primary cause for climate change.
 
"No, most likely the primary control knob is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in," Perry said.
 
Members of the science community were quick to refute his words.
 
On Wednesday, Keith Seitter, executive director of the American Meteorological Society, sent a letter to Perry.
 
"While you acknowledged that the climate is changing and that humans are having an impact on it, it is critically important that you understand that emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the primary cause," Seitter wrote. "It is based on multiple independent lines of evidence that have been affirmed by thousands of independent scientists and numerous scientific institutions around the world."
 
Perry told CBN News he's spoken with several scientists who, like him, are skeptical about some of the research and findings that are out there. 
 
"I've talked to enough scientists that say the science isn't settled," he said. "So let's not be afraid to, you know, have that conversation. I consider those that say, 'You're a skeptic of the science, therefore you're a Luddite,' to be the ones that are really narrow-minded." 

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About The Author

Jenna
Browder

Jenna Browder co-hosts Faith Nation and is a network correspondent for CBN News. She has interviewed many prominent national figures from both sides of the political aisle, including presidents, cabinet secretaries, lawmakers, and other high-ranking officials. Jenna grew up in the small mountain town of Gunnison, Colorado and graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she studied journalism. Her first TV jobs were at CBS affiliates in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Monroe, Louisiana where she anchored the nightly news. She came to Washington, D.C. in 2016. Getting to cover that year's