Josh Siegel of the Washington Examiner reports that William Happer’s departure from the Trump administration isn’t changing his tune about climate science.

William Happer failed at the chance of his lifetime.

A notorious climate change science skeptic, Happer, 80, recently left the Trump administration after the White House killed his plan to create a panel to challenge government assessments of global warming.

But Happer remains undeterred, confident that President Trump, the most vocal climate change skeptic to occupy the White House, is naturally inclined to come around to the idea.

“Hard things often take a long time,” Happer told the Washington Examiner in his first interview since leaving the administration in September. “I hope it’s in my lifetime.”

Happer is as eager as ever to challenge the climate science consensus, calling it is a “completely imaginary threat that doesn’t exist. People are afraid to stand up and say that.”

He compared his crusade to the experience of the protagonist in a 1882 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, “An Enemy of the People,” which tells the story of a man who speaks an “unpalatable truth” and is punished for it. …

… In keeping up the fight against the mainstream of climate science, Happer faces opposition among an increasing number of Republicans who fear that the party will not be viable if it does not change to appeal to climate-conscious voters, especially young people.

He said he’s held his views on climate change since the early 1990s, when he served as director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Science in the George H.W. Bush administration.

“I feel bad about the younger generation,” said Happer, who has six grandchildren ranging from middle school- to college-age. “They have been brainwashed. The people who think this is a winning election issue are wrong.”