GOP Lawmaker Says Falling Rocks Cause Sea Level Rise

Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) claimed in a congressional hearing that land erosion plays a more significant role in sea-level rise than climate change, Science Magazine reports.

“He said the California coastline and the White Cliffs of Dover tumble into the sea every year, and that contributes to sea-level rise. He also said that silt washing into the ocean from the world’s major rivers, including the Mississippi, the Amazon and the Nile, is contributing to sea-level rise.”

Said Brooks: “Every time you have that soil or rock or whatever it is that is deposited into the seas, that forces the sea levels to rise, because now you have less space in those oceans, because the bottom is moving up.”