The National Park Service Badlands started tweeting facts about climate change earlier today before they were deleted, in apparent defiance of orders telling them not to tweet anything other than the most anodyne things.
CBS News caught the tweets in real time before they were taken down.
The first tweet about climate science came at 11:40 a.m. local time Tuesday. It said: “The pre-industrial concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm). As of December 2016, 404.93 ppm.”
"The pre-industrial concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 280 parts per million (ppm). As of December 2016, 404.93 ppm."— Badlands Nat'l Park (@BadlandsNPS) January 24, 2017
Just moments later, the same account tweeted, “Today, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher than at any time in the last 650,000 years” — with the hashtag “#climate” added for good measure.
Today, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher than at any time in the last 650,000 years. #climate— Badlands Nat'l Park (@BadlandsNPS) January 24, 2017
Then, at 12:25 p.m., the next tweet said: “Flipside of the atmosphere; ocean acidity has increased 30% since the Industrial Revolution. ‘Ocean Acidification’ #climate #carboncycle”
Flipside of the atmosphere; ocean acidity has increased 30% since the Industrial Revolution. "Ocean Acidification" #climate #carboncycle— Badlands Nat'l Park (@BadlandsNPS) January 24, 2017
And then, one by one, they were deleted because our petrochemical overlords cannot have pesky facts get in the way of their own subjective and delusional alternative facts.
As of 5:35 p.m., all the above tweets have been deleted. In response to that action, DNC national press secretary Adrienne Watson released the following statement: “Vladimir Putin would be proud.”
President Trump has, in the past, tweeted that he believes climate change is a hoax perpetrated by China. During their confirmation hearings, however, several of Trump’s Cabinet nominees disagreed with that notion, including ExxonMobil chief executive Rex Tillerson and Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Trump’s choice to take over the EPA.
It's not just Putin who would be proud. Our petrochemical overlords are not going to stand for actual facts getting in the way of their profits. Not for one stinking minute, and especially not on Trump's precious Twitter.
