U.S. Congressional Representative asked General Petraeus about carbon emissions reduction in the war on terror- Fiction!

U.S. Congressional Representative asked General Petraeus about carbon emissions reduction in the war on terror- Fiction!

Summary of the eRumor:
This is a forwarded email that says U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona asked US Army General David Petraeus what he was doing to reduce carbon emissions in the war on terror.

The Truth:
There was a House Armed Services Committee hearing that was held in Washington D.C. on June 16, 2010 and according to the official video transcript U.S. Congressional Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona asked General David Petraeus about the utilization of renewable energy technology in U.S. bases in Afghanistan. The Congresswoman did not inquire about carbon emission reduction but asked the Commander of U.S. Central Command in Afghanistan about the implementation of hydro and solar energy systems to reduce our nation's need for fuel.

Congresswoman Giffords' question appears shortly after 2:58:00 in the House Armed Services Committee archived video on the official House Armed Services Committee web site. Click for video transcript.

updated 07/29/10

A real example of the eRumor as it has appeared on the Internet:

This question was asked by the 8th District U.S. Congressional Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona. This is what is seriously wrong with Congress.

You will simply not believe this. Our 8th District US Congressional representative, the Hon. Gabrielle Giffords, in a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee, asked General David Petraeus the following question: "General Petraeus, what are you doing to reduce carbon emissions in the war on terror?"

Wow. I had to read, and re-read this several times to believe it. Folks, there are American sons & daughters dying every week on the foreign battlefields of southwest Asia. The nation is completely bankrupt and - quite literally, borrowing 43 cents for every dollar in federal spending. We have the largest environmental disaster in the nation's history in the Gulf of Mexico , and we have Mexican drug armies invading our nation. And yet ... A member of Congress from Arizona 's 8th congressional district took the time to ask our battlefield commander what he is doing to curb carbon emissions in the war.

Gabrielle Gifford is the poster-child for what is wrong with the US Congress. We are being led by imbeciles. To the rest of America reading this blog, and to Gen. Petraeus if this e-mail makes it to your inbox - my sincerest apologies for the stupid question asked of you by my US congressional representative. General - I am sure you have better things to worry about than carbon emissions on the battlefield. I assure you, as a registered voter in Arizona 's 8th congressional district, I will do everything I can to ensure Rep. Gifford is voted out of office in November, and I pray you'll get back to business of fighting the war on terror without worrying about such petty and nonsensical matters as your carbon footprint in the war.