As portions of the country are baking in record-setting heat, a Democratic lawmaker is seeking to capitalize on the moment to call for a national climate emergency.
The southern United States is facing its third week of extreme heat with several states seeing prolonged periods of temperatures in the triple digits.
And on Monday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a member of the so-called “Squad,” tried to the emphasize heat wave and blame it on climate change by arguing it has been a long, long time since the world has seen this kind of heat.
But her tweet’s example was odd.
“The earth just broke the record for the hottest day in 120,000 years. In fact, we broke in on three separate days,” Omar wrote.
She added, “National climate emergency now.”
The oldest man in the Bible, Methuselah, lived 969 years. So we’re talking about roughly 124 Methuselah life spans here with Omar’s tweet.
The earth just broke the record for the hottest day in 120,000 years. In fact, we broke in on three separate days.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 17, 2023
National climate emergency now.
A note was added to her tweet that stated, “The source for this claim appears to be the University of Maine Climate Reanalyzer which has added a recent notice making it clear that it should not be taken as official observation records.”
It did not take long for conservatives to mock Omar for her tweet.
The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh wrote, “If you believe that we have precise daily temperature records dating back 120 thousand years, then this claim may seem credible. But if you are approximately smarter than a sea sponge then you know that this is hysterical bullsh*t.”
If you believe that we have precise daily temperature records dating back 120 thousand years, then this claim may seem credible. But if you are approximately smarter than a sea sponge then you know that this is hysterical bullshit. https://t.co/0QHm14UPjy
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) July 18, 2023
Conservative commentator Kate Hyde wrote, “I called my friend who is 117,094 years old and he just confirmed this is totally true.”
I called my friend who is 117,094 years old and he just confirmed this is totally true. https://t.co/kkYynBld8q
— Kate Hyde (@KateHydeNY) July 18, 2023
“Does she think we kept climate records 120,000 years ago?” The Federalist’s David Harsanyi asked.
Does she think we kept climate records 120,000 years ago? https://t.co/YdQD0cw2dY
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) July 18, 2023
Red State’s Brandon Morse asked, “Can you tell us more about who recorded that temp and where?”
Can you tell us more about who recorded that temp and where?
— Brandon Morse (@TheBrandonMorse) July 18, 2023
Liberals struggle to understand why so many conservatives are skeptical of science at times, and then they put out tweets like this which just make science look like a joke. So they should probably be looking in the mirror.
Scientists can say they have an idea of temperatures hundreds of thousands of years ago.
But to try to pinpoint with such precision exactly when the last time the globe saw these temperatures and go so far back in time — that no one and no instrument can verify — when the earth was this hot is kind of bizarre.
So you want us to believe that scientists can tell that there was absolutely without a shadow of a doubt no day, or days, in the last 120,000 years hotter than this week? Got it.