“She has shown time and again her commitment to protecting our coastal resources,” said David Allgood, the conservation league’s Southern California director.
Cook and Rohrabacher differ substantially on some contentious environmental issues, including global climate change and offshore oil drilling. Rohrabacher does not believe changes in the climate are caused by humans, and he thinks efforts to curb temperature fluctuations are wrong-headed and counterproductive.
“It’s worse than a myth; it’s a hoax, and there are thousands of scientists that are stepping up and saying that,” Rohrabacher said of prevailing global-warming theories.
He believes climate trends are natural and not affected by human carbon emissions. Legislation seeking to curb such emissions and change the lifestyles of Americans will make travel more expensive and increase food prices, he said.
Cook, on the other hand, thinks the science behind global warming is solid, but says the notion is almost irrelevant.
According to Cook, whether or not you agree with scientific theories of carbon-caused global warming, America needs to try to wean itself off of heavy oil consumption. Oil is a resource that is eventually going to dry up, and it is shortsighted to base America’s future plans on the notion that more oil can always be drilled, Cook said.
For this reason, she does not think that we should drill for oil off the coast of California or in Alaska. Those resources are extremely limited and won’t really solve America’s energy problems, she said.
“It’s a thimbleful in your tank of gas. That’s all it is,” she said.
