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Republican says global warming is good for the economy
Republican state representative from Montana brings anti-climate ideas to a whole new level.
Wed, Feb 23 2011 at 2:21 PM
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GOOD FOR BIZ: The Montana state Legislature considered passing a law this week that says global warming is good for the economy. (Photo: jimmywayne/Flickr)
In this day in age, it is not surprising when a state legislature decides to take aim at the EPA, but this week Montana has taken things to a whole new level.
State Rep. Joe Read of Montana has not only gotten support from 67 members of the state house to forbid Montana from enforcing greenhouse gas regulations in the Big Sky state, he also tried to claim that global warming is good for Montana.
A day before the anti-EPA bill passed, the Montana Republican made the bold move of proposing a bill that stated that global warming is a “beneficial natural occurrence,” and that “human activity has not accelerated it.” To be clear, throwing the EPA under the bus isn’t new territory for the climate denial crowd. What's new is Read’s claim that global warming is “beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana.”
But it appears that even in Montana, lawmakers thought this bill went too far. Read’s hopes of getting a vote on the claim that global warming was a good thing failed to gain enough support for a floor vote in the state legislature, despite support for his other anti-climate bills this week.
But even in defeat, Read is sticking to his guns. Following his failed attempt, the lawmaker did grant an interview with the left-leaning ThinkProgress.org, in which he essentially said that global warming was an economic conspiracy. “If you follow the money, the science has been pushed toward where the money is coming from. The money is coming from the federal government. I believe global science is an ideal, not a true science," he said. Read also admitted during his interview that he didn’t consult any climate scientists before he drafted his bill.
While Read’s attempt may have been a rare case of climate deniers going too far in assaulting science in a red state like Montana, his actions show that going too far requires extreme actions these days. Beyond the successful vote to forbid enforcement of greenhouse gas regulations, Republicans in the Montana House of Representatives this week got many Democrats to join them Tuesday in an 80-20 vote forbidding the state from enforcing a mercury rule stricter than federal regulations for the pollutant.
So the lesson to be learned here is that there are limits for even the most extreme climate deniers, but that won’t keep them from trying.
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The true climate deniers are those who believe that the climate always stays the same. Climate denial is the source of climate alarmism.
I am truly disappointed by such a baseless idea. The fact that such a person says these statements is one thing but 67 members agreeing with him is truly shocking. This shows how much our legislators are familiar with real life problems. This example shows that we need to raise the qualification levels from just living and being in a district to educational degrees.
I would expect most of the 67 already have degrees. What it really comes down to is these people simply won't be pushed around by the Federal government. In short, they have backbone.
I am truly disappointed by such a baseless idea. The fact that such a person says these statements is one thing but 67 members agreeing with him is truly shocking. This shows how much our legislators are familiar with real life problems. This example shows that we need to raise the qualification levels from just living and being in a district to educational degrees.
I certainly dont think that Joe Read's statements were ignorant or careless. He is correct in that global warming is a natural process-- the earth has been warming and cooling for billions of years, long before humans existed. Also, its very true that the theory of global warming as a problem "accelerated or caused by human activity" is good for business. After all, a profit is being made from hybrid cars as well as organic, recycled, and"green" products right?
As a liberal Montanan who knows that global warming is not just "an economic conspiracy", I am embarrassed that our politicians give Montana a reputation of such ignorance and carelessness.
Perhaps, but you should be proud that Montanan's live the way they want to, and do not bow down to Federal policies. They stand their ground. Montanans don't just talk the talk, they actually walk it, unlike many other states and many whole countries.