GOP senator: ‘Tolerance’ needed for different climate change views

Some don’t agree the planet is warming at all, while others say climate change is occurring but don’t know whether humans play a role in it.

{mosads}Republicans on the committee pointed to a slowing pace of temperature increases over the past 15 years.

Still, climate scientists say the data show temperatures are still trending upward, as the past decade was the warmest on record for the United States.

Scientists also say there’s more to global warming than surface temperatures. They point to rising ocean temperatures — especially at deep levels — and receding ice caps as further evidence that climate change is occurring.

“What is very clear is that global warming has not stopped,” Heidi Cullen, chief climatologist with Climate Central, said during the hearing.