Talks to Watch

Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) Snowball in the Senate (C-SPAN)

1.1M views · Feb 26, 2015 · 0:36 · 0 HN recommenders · 6 mentions · discussed 2021–2025

A C-SPAN clip of Senator James Inhofe displaying and tossing a snowball on the Senate floor, used as an argument against global warming.

Why Hacker News points people here: HN commenters invoke it as a shorthand example of climate denial in politics, in threads about climate records and policy, usually critically.

What Hacker News said 6

CriticalttfkamJan 2022
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This is a man elected to the US Senate in 1994. First elected to Cross in 1987. Still there today. Guess which political party he belongs to. this video Folks are literally about to be put on respirators denying they're sick from Covid. They're rarely if ever left wing. link So yeah, one side has the lion's share of denying climate change and Covid. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader to research which demographic has been promoting the consumption of urine as a protective measure against a respiratory and vascular disease-causing virus. It may be popular to blame politicians, but people need to take responsibility for voting for folks that espouse belief in Jewish space lasers. Whether you think the politician is putting up a front or honestly believes what they're peddling really doesn't matter in the long run if you're filling in the box next to their name on the ballot.

in “Society has a trust problem. More censorship will only make it worse” · view on HN
CriticalmellingNov 2022
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Nah, they’re climate change “alarmists”. People ignore them. It doesn’t change anyone’s mind. this video link Companies do make more promises they can’t keep. link

in “Climate activists block private jet take-offs at Schiphol Airport” · view on HN
CriticalmellingMay 2023

“We send some pretty low IQ people to DC.”

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You don’t need to convince 8 billion people. You simply need to convince the handful of people in charge. Unfortunately, this climate change thing really throws some of those people: this video “Here’s a snowball, it’s very cold out…” We send some pretty low IQ people to DC.

in “Ice loss from Greenland and Antarctica hits new record” · view on HN
CriticalForkMeOnTinderOct 2023

“the senator who tried to disprove global warming by showing everyone a snowball.”

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Yeah, GP's comment is on the same level as the senator who tried to disprove global warming by showing everyone a snowball. this video

in “2023 was earth's warmest September In 174 year record” · view on HN
CriticalmellingJul 2025

“Ten years ago we had the “snowball in the Senate”

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You act like climate change is widely accepted in America. Ten years ago we had the “snowball in the Senate “ this video

in “EPA wants to eliminate regulation for greenhouse gases” · view on HN
Jokecity41Aug 2021

“a US Senator once brought a snowball onto the senate floor to "prove" it's all fake.”

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I think "climate change" is the best general term of the bunch. "Global warming" makes people think it's all bunk whenever it gets cold. Hell, a US Senator once brought a snowball onto the senate floor to "prove" it's all fake. this video

in “It’s official: July was Earth’s hottest month on record” · view on HN