Wendy Sherman: “Last Saturday was Earth Day, and tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people across this country had to…”

“Last Saturday was Earth Day, and tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of people across this country had to march in favor of science because, not since Galileo was condemned by the Inquisition for asserting that the Earth orbits the Sun, not since Galileo was condemned by the Inquisition have science deniers had such powerful friends. Our species went 1,000 years without science. We call those years, in retrospect, the Dark Ages. My time in this Congress has convinced me that we should be guided by scientific consensus, by scientific facts, not alternative facts. Scientific fact: Climate change is real and predominantly man-made, and if we don't reduce our emission of greenhouse gasses, then we are going to lose our ports, our beaches, our health, and entire countries like the Maldives. Another scientific fact: Donald Trump can't stop global warming just by emitting an unprecedented volume of hot air. Now, a week earlier we had tax day, and millions of Americans across this country, including in Los Angeles, needed to demonstrate to try to get Donald Trump to reveal his tax returns. Every President since Richard Nixon has released their tax returns. Donald Trump told us in May of 2014: If I decide to run for office, I will produce my tax returns. And he said it again a year later. And then he said it during the Republican debate in 2016. He said: Oh, I will release my tax returns, but they are under audit.…”