Syracuse haze. China pollution. What was Brandon Williams tweeting about?
Brandon Williams #BrandonWilliams
Rep. Brandon Williams set off his own firestorm after tweeting about smoke from the Quebec wildfires that sent dangerously unhealthy air into Central New York this morning for a second consecutive day.
“Smoke from Canadian wildfires doesn’t stay in Canada,” Williams wrote in a tweet Tuesday. “Air pollution in China doesn’t stay in China. Progressives’ crazy energy policies have driven up costs, hurting American families.”
His comment sparked a backlash on Twitter from people who asked: What is he talking about? How could Democratic energy policies have anything to do with more than 160 wildfires raging across Quebec?
Dave Larsen, a public health professor and epidemiologist at Syracuse University, was among those puzzled by the first-term Republican’s logic.
“I don’t understand how you are linking progressive energy policy to air pollution,” Larsen tweeted. “I think of progressive energy policy as wind/solar/hydro and even nuclear which don’t contribute to air pollution.”
Lisa Daly Lehmann replied to Williams, “This is incoherent. Whoever runs your Twitter account is really not doing you any favors.”
Dawn Giannone added, “So the wildfires in Canada and the wind carrying it here is the fault of progressives crazy energy policies? LMFAO So much for (being) a nuclear engineer.”
Daniel Dutelle couldn’t make sense of what Williams was trying to say on a day that Central New York had the most polluted air in the state because of the thick haze of smoke from Canada.
New York state issued an air quality alert, urging anyone with heart or lung problems to stay indoors.
“What exactly is your point here?” Dutelle tweeted. “This whole event just underscores how all countries need to work together to solve planetary climate change.”
Williams, a first-term Republican who represents Central New York, did not respond to dozens of people on Twitter who asked for an explanation.
Williams said in a statement Wednesday to syracuse.com | The Post-Standard that he was trying to make a point: The U.S. can’t stop the greenhouse gas emissions of other countries from contributing to global climate change.
“Since our planet shares one atmosphere, as the Canadian fires make clear, we cannot solve climate change simply by curtailing our own emissions – while ignoring pollution from China and other countries,” he said. “We have to have a common-sense energy policy and not ignore reality.”
Williams opposes the goals of President Joe Biden’s administration to transition to a 100% clean energy electrical grid by 2035 and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Progressive energy policies ignore the pollution from other countries and assume that forcing the U.S. to achieve zero emissions will solve climate change,” Williams said. “It won’t. China and other countries are rapidly adding coal-fired electric plants, adding to global CO2 emissions.”
During his campaign for Congress last year, Williams said that climate change is real. But he doesn’t support switching to 100% clean and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind.
Williams, like many Republicans, wants to expand the use of fossil fuels by opening more federal land to oil and gas drilling, and building more pipelines to carry the fuel.
The former nuclear submarine engineer chairs the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Energy.
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A view of the Onondaga County Courthouse and Syracuse University campus in the background in downtown Syracuse Tuesday, June 6, 2023, as smoke from the Canada Wildfires continues to blanket Central New York. Lauren Long | llong@syracuse.com
© Lauren Long | llong/syracuse.com/TNS