CU Environment Professor Says He's Target Of 'Witch Hunt'

DENVER (AP) — A University of Colorado environmental studies professor says he's the target of a congressional "witch hunt" because he expressed doubt about whether climate change is making natural disasters worse.

Roger Pielke Jr. made the comments this week after a Democratic congressman asked whether he had any undisclosed funding from fossil fuel companies.

Pielke says he gets no funding from such companies. He says he's not a climate change skeptic and supports stricter regulations on carbon pollution.

Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona asked the university for a list of Pielke's external funding sources. Grijalva cited Pielke's testimony before the U.S. Senate in 2013 in which he said it was wrong to blame greenhouse gases for worsening disasters.

The university is standing behind Pielke and says he is highly regarded.

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