New House Democrats Use Climate Hearing as Issue Megaphone

The House Natural Resources Committee’s first climate change hearing of the new Congress offered few details on strategies, but allowed a handful of new Democrats to vocalize on the issue’s importance.

The Feb. 6 hearing set the tone for a committee that, under Republicans, promoted the benefits of fossil fuel development over the risks.

The Democratic members recounted the effects of climate change on their regions, including wildfires in New Mexico and rapid snowmelt in Colorado’s national parks, at the first of a series of hearings on the subject in the committee this month.

Almost one-third of the ...