Did “No. 1” Climate Change Denier Fake His Résumé?

Minnesota State Senator Michael Jungbauer. Andy Revkin

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Sometimes it seems hard to believe how much skepticism still exists about climate change, with the scientific community in near-unanimous agreement that yes, it’s happening and yes, it’s our fault. But as Minnesota State Senator Michael Jungbauer reminded us yesterday, most of that dissent comes from people who are more or less clueless about the science.

Jungbauer, who sits on the state’s Senate Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications Committee, proudly calls himself the “No. 1 global warming denier in Minnesota.” He also claims to have a bachelor’s degree from the Moody Bible Institute with a “background in biochemistry.” The first claim is easy enough to believe, but as for the second, MinnPost reported yesterday that Jungbauer never graduated, and that the closest thing he has to a bachelor’s of science is a ministerial ordainment from Christian Motorsports International, which provides “chapel services” at “races, car shows, cruise-ins, and tractor pulls.”

That’s not all: Jungbauer says he’s working on a master’s degree in environmental policy at Metropolitan State University. Thing is, no such program exists at that school. When presented with this unsettling fact by MinnPost, Jungbauer’s defense was: “Well, that’s what they told me.” Perhaps he has not yet taken the class where they teach you how to objectively evaluate facts—or to admit it when you’re caught in a lie.

Jungbauer’s lack of scientific education has not stopped him from playing the role of professor and sharing his insight with the good people of Minnesota, who have been duped by evil, conniving scientists. “Global warming and climate change in Minnesota, this is pure unadulterated BS,” Jungbauer said while running for Minnesota governor in 2009. 

To help clarify his position, Jungbauer has posted a series of videos (such as the one below) on his Senate website, in which he stands in front of a whiteboard and explains how, “if you are given the wrong information, you will come to the wrong conclusion.” I couldn’t agree more, Mike. Good thing we have hordes of scientists, with perfectly honest résumés, who have spent their careers making sure we get the right information about what is perhaps the world’s most pressing topic.

(Just for the record, most scientists do, in fact, agree that carbon dioxide contributes to global warming, not to mention do nasty things like damage coral reefs and acidify the ocean.)

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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