Herschel Walker said he opposes the new climate law because there are already enough trees. (Photo: Getty Images)
Republican Party of Georgia herschel walker The Biden administration’s sweeping new climate law sets aside funds to plant and protect trees, thus representing unnecessary spending.
“They try to trick you into thinking they are helping you, but they are not. Do you know part of this money goes to trees? There are — aren’t there enough trees around here?” Walker said Sunday in Georgia, Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
In essence, no – the earth doesn’t have enough trees to neutralize the effects of burning fossil fuels.
on the other hand, 2015 survey We discovered that there are over 3 trillion trees on Earth, but there are far fewer trees here today than there were at the beginning of human civilization, offsetting the devastating effects of climate change. is not enough. scientists say.
The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress without a Republican vote, allocates $1.5 billion over 10 years to the Forest Service’s urban and community forestry program. Poor air quality. Scientists agree, especially in low-income areas that trees are beneficialhelp reduce air pollution and temperature.
In 2020, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order joining the United States in the World Economic Forum’s 1 Trillion Trees Initiative. Trump explained as “an ambitious effort to bring together government and the private sector to plant new trees in America and around the world.”climate advocate opposed the orderBut it encouraged logging on the grounds that it did nothing to mitigate the consumption of fossil fuels, the driving force behind climate change.
Funds allocated for tree-related A $750 billion Inflation Control Act, This not only tackles climate change, but also the cost of health care and prescription drugs, a staple of the Democratic Party’s domestic agenda.
This isn’t the first time a Republican senator candidate has sparked controversy with his comments on climate issues. extreme simplification of the global impact of air pollution.
Walker’s campaign provides his full remarks from the event, citing the law’s provisions against additional IRS agents as further reckless spending, and how the law in general actually Reduce inflation as promised.
The comments surfaced after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) made comments last week about the quality of GOP candidates running in this year’s election, where Republicans are targeting control of both Congresses.
Walker, a former NFL player endorsed by Trump, is running in one of the country’s most contested battlegrounds to oust incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock.
“I think the House is probably more likely to be overthrown than the Senate.” McConnell said last week. “Senate elections are completely different…The quality of the candidates has a lot to do with the outcome.”
The remark was interpreted as a dig at a first-time candidate like Walker. continue message Besides explaining why he didn’t, revealed his two children After criticizing absentee fathers Mehmet Oz of Pennsylvania and JD Vance of Ohio.
This article originally appeared on huff post and updated.