'Weaponized nonsense': Lauren Boebert ripped for calling climate change a 'religion'

United States Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-Colorado) referred to climate change as a "religion" during a floor speech in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

"It's past time House Democrats start to have a little empathy and dismount their moral high horse of climate change. There are thousands of children currently today slaving away in the Congo at Chinese-owned mines. They have to dig for cobalt with their bare hands. Instead of freeing these slaves and even ourselves from the need of these, this resource, they want to buy Chinese-made products," Boebert hollered. "It's clear they have a climate religion. They worship the Earth while I worship the Creator, not the creation. We are here to be good stewards of our land. So stop sacrificing the American families at your altar of climate change."

Exploitative slave labor is a major problem in the industrial extraction of rare-earth minerals like cobalt, which is an essential material in a vast array of products such as electric cars, medical devices, and smartphones. As National Public Radio noted in February, "cobalt is used in the manufacture of almost all lithium-ion rechargeable batteries used in the world today."

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NPR further pointed out that "the mines have taken over everything. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced because their villages were just bulldozed over to make place for large mining concessions." NPR added that "it's not chattel slavery from the 18th century where you can buy and trade people and own title over a person like property. But the level of degradation, the level of exploitation is on par with old-world slavery."

NPR added that Chinese companies "have about 70, 80% of the refined cobalt market and probably half of the battery market."

Yet Boebert's own actions and record do not square with her proclamation. First, her Bible explicitly commands in numerous passages that humans be "good stewards" of the Earth.

Faith leaders have championed this idea too. Pope John Paul II once said that "the Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations."

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Second, Boebert opposes legislation and regulations aimed at protecting the environment, putting her at odds with science and reality. In 2021, Boebert filed a bill to nullify the Paris Climate Agreement, which President Joe Biden rejoined, prompting outrage from residents of her district.

"As the 'representative' of a district in which 59% of constituents are worried about global warming, 56% think Congress should do more to address global warming, and 72% think carbon dioxide should be regulated as a pollutant, Boebert’s sweeping, ill-informed bill is not only a rebuke to District 3 — which will suffer the impacts of a warming climate disproportionately — but an abrogation of fact itself," Darmouth student Soleil Gaylord wrote for Colorado Newsline that year.

Jacobin Magazine compared Boebert's anti-climate bill of running a "self-enrichment scheme" aimed at "benefiting her husband's fossil fuel business."

Last month, Boebert trivialized the climate crisis by tweeting, "Nothing against climate change. I totally believe in it. It happens four times every year."

Twitter users called out her hypocrisy after Tuesday's outburst.

LoveToHike: "Um aren't Christians supposed to be stewards of the Earth?"

Christian SoxKehd: "Then why is she fine as humanity is destroying the Creator's gift to us? If you hold him in the exalted reverence you claim, wouldn't you wish to preserve the gifted home He left for us."

Gayle Glade: "I don't care if her higher power is Jiminy Cricket or Buddha. That's private. What she is PAID to do is be a legislator. As such she needs to deal with facts, figures, science, and reality. Nothing more. She can preach on Sundays. Mon-Fri she's on constituent time!"

Ken: "If @laurenboebert worships the creator, then wouldn't she and other so-called 'Christians' do what it takes to protect what the creator created?"

KevinMc: "God spent 3 out of 7 days creating the Earth...1 day creating the rest of the universe...2 days creating sea creatures, animals and humans...and then God rested. God thought the Earth was the most important part of his creation...seems worth saving. 'True' story. Look it up."

Waffle Pocket: "Lauren Boebert coming out strong against the planet Earth."

Mo Ray: "Little Miss Cliché trots out her tired talking points to mock those of us who would rather not trash the planet, it's neither helpful nor accurate. Most scientists believe that climate change is real, it's not a religious movement, simply an attempt to prevent further damage."

Randy Watson: "The only creator she worships is Smith & Wesson."

Half Centaur: "Another in a long string of GOP 'weaponized nonsense.'"

Watch below or at this link.

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