The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) has launched a targeted advertising campaign calling out the anti-science climate denial of members of Congress.
Specifically targeting Congressmen who oppose “common sense efforts to reduce carbon pollution,” the entertaining 30 second ad spots compare one representative to an ostrich with his head in the sand while pointing out that “NASA and 97% of scientists agree on climate change.”
In four different advertisements, LCV targets Congressmen Rodney Davis (IL), Dan Benishek (MI), Ron Johnson (WI) and Mike Coffman (CO), illustrating how their climate denial is out of step with their constituents and harms their home states, which are already being impacted by climate change.
The aim of the $2 million nationwide campaign is to expose the extreme anti-science views of Congress members while encouraging viewers of the ad spots to call their representatives and demand action on climate change. LCV stated “If we want to see action on climate, we need to call out members of Congress denying the science and standing in the way of progress.”
The ads can be seen on the LCV website and will be airing in targeted areas in each representative’s district. Through publicly pressuring the representatives, the LCV aims to show how out of step these Congressmen are with the scientific consensus. This is part of a larger campaign to make climate change denial a political liability in the United States, which it so far has not been for the (mostly Republican) denier members of congress.
LCV’s mandate is to turn environmental values into national priorities by working at a state and federal level to educate the public and lobby congress on environmental issues. Similar to conservative scorecards for members of Congress, LCV has a National Environmental Scorecard that individuals can access to view their representative’s environmental record.
By making clear the level of public support for action on climate change, LCV hopes to further pressure Congress to act on climate change and create momentum for a price on carbon.
