Correcting Misinformation from Lawmakers

I recently testified before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals. Right out of the gate, Ranking Member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez falsely claimed in her opening statement that nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from fossil fuel production on federal lands and waters. When it came for my opening remarks, rather than start with my written testimony, I took the opportunity to correct the misinformation. Actually, fossil fuel production on federal lands accounts for just 0.7% of U.S. GHGs or three orders of magnitude less.

But some members of the Subcommittee just didn’t believe me. In what was meant to be a gotcha question, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) submitted the following Question for the Record in which he doubled down on AOC’s false talking point. Here’s my reply, using the best available data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

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