CLIMATE CHANGE ANALYST: Gregory Wrightstone, author of Inconvenient Facts: The Science That Al Gore Doesn't Want You To Know. Wrightstone is a geologist with more than 35 years of experience researching and studying various aspects of the Earth's processes. Democrats put climate change back on the forefront of their governing agenda Thursday, portraying the issue as an "existential threat" even as the caucus remains split over how forcefully to respond. Speaker Nancy Pelosi brought up the issue in her opening address while touting a new select panel to come up with ideas on how to solve it, and the Energy and Commerce Committee announced that climate change would be the subject of its very first hearing this year. But the party's enthusiasm belies lingering tension between liberal activists who say party leaders are not being ambitious enough and moderates who worry about proposals that could be cast as too costly or unrealistic — especially after an election in which the party picked up former GOP seats in places like Kansas and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and Republicans who control the Senate have shown no interest in pursuing dramatic reductions in carbon emissions — meaning no House bill is likely to become law — even as scientists warn that time is running out to get a handle on the situation. The Democrats' change in tone is evident in the name of the new panel. It is now called the "Select Committee on the Climate Crisis," compared to a focus on "energy independence and global warming" when Democrats formed a similar panel was formed a decade ago. READ: www.politico.com/story/2019/01/03/nancy-pelosi-climate-change-congress-1059148 PLUG BOOK: www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Facts-science-that-doesnt/dp/1545614105/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8 BIO: Gregory Wrightstone is a geologist with more than 35 years of experience researching and studying various aspects of the Earth's processes. He earned a bachelor's degree from Waynesburg University and a master's from West Virginia University, both in the field of geology. He has written and presented extensively on many aspects of geology including how paleogeography and paleoclimate control geologic processes. His findings have allowed him to speak at many venues around the world including Ireland, England, China and most recently India. Gregory is a strong proponent of the scientific process and believes that policy decisions should be driven by science, facts and data, not a political a