GRIST • June 11, 2021
The Texas Republican congressman Louie Gohmert has asked a senior U.S. government official if changing the moon’s orbit around the Earth, or the Earth’s orbit around the sun, might be a solution for climate change. Bizarrely, the question was not posed to anyone from NASA or even the Pentagon. Instead it was asked of a senior forestry service official during a House natural resources committee hearing on Tuesday. “Is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moon’s orbit, or the Earth’s orbit around the sun?” Gohmert asked. “Obviously that would have profound effects on our climate.” The official said she would have to “follow up with you on that one, Mr Gohmert.”