Energy Chair Joe Barton (R-TX): "Greenhouse Gases are Good, because Greenhouses Help Things Grow."

[wtmusic]

No, it's not the Onion. Yes, the House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman is a certifiable idiot.



Carol Browner: ‘Stunning’ Climate Denial In The House Prevents Any Action On Climate In Washington

"Former EPA Chief and White House Climate Czar Carol Browner says that climate deniers in the House of Representatives are the biggest impediment to getting a price on carbon.

<>

Speaking directly after Browner was Texas GOP Representative Joe Barton. Barton is the chairman emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and sits on the Environment and the Economy subcommittee. However, while collecting $1.7 million from Big Oil over the years, he has displayed alarming ignorance on climate reality.

Barton claimed that carbon dioxide is not only irrelevant to the Clean Air Act, but that it’s not dangerous at all because it’s 'a necessity for life.' To illustrate his example, he noted that he was exhaling carbon dioxide as he spoke, and actually argued that people should build greenhouses because they create life, so greenhouse gases are good."

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/12/06/1292171/carol-browner-stunning-climate-denial-in-the-house-prevents-any-action-on-climate-in-washington/

[Rider3]

1. Wow...

Words escape me. And this guy is an elected "leader." Pathetic.

[CRH]

2. No hope for change with that logic. n/t

[immoderate]

3. You don't have to be an idiot -- but it helps!

--imm

[liberal N proud]

4. The stupid is seeping out all over the place on that one

[Auntie Bush]

5. Has a more stupid man ever walked this earth?

[NickB79]

6. This man needs to spend one day in an unventilated greenhouse

In his home state of Texas.

In August.

No airflow. No water. No open doors. Just him and the summer sun streaming in.

We could drag his dead, heatstroked body through the streets of DC the next day as an example to the rest of his ilk.

[pscot]

11. just what I was thinking

Lock the SOB in

[phantom power]

7. so much awesome

he's not just a congressman
he's not even just on the House Energy and Commerce Committee
no, he's the chair

[PADemD]

8. This man needs to be sent on a fact finding trip to the Arctic with a group of scientists.

[stuntcat]

9. this is a sign

no matter what The Hopeful think about the beautiful green revolution that's right around the corner. THIS right here is humanity. Ten years from now this will still be the same argument, the seas will be more trashed, more animals will be wiped out, more people will be in poverty and killed by natural disasters.. but people like this man will still have some of the most powerful positions.
I wish I had it all wrong. But I know I'll spend the rest of my life watching our species's giant super-failure.. fail after fail after fail, and the tv watchers will keep laughing at me for being sad about the nature that's dying.

[EC]

10. He's never worked in a greenhouse has he?

You've got to vent it or die from the heat.

On edit: and if he thinks carbon dioxide isn't dangerous, then he shouldn't mind sitting in a sealed room with carbon dioxide being pumped in for him to glory in.

[Iterate]

14. As I recall, CO2 is used to kill chickens.

It's actually considered a humane method of poultry slaughter because they drift off into unconsciousness without stress. The metaphors are endless.

It's a small step to an Edison vs. Westinghouse style advertising campaign as there was over the issue of AC vs DC voltage in the 1890's. I don't see that anyone is ready for that.

[AtheistCrusader]

12. It's true enough.

It'll also help the enzymes that will break down the remains of our extinct species.

[pscot]

13. Somebody ought to make a movie

lampooning these buffoons.

[unhappycamper]

15. They already did:

[jwirr]

16. From Texas? How are things growing down there in the heat and drought?

[xocet]

17. Actually, Fred Upton is the current chairman of that committee...not that his position is better....

Here is the link to the committee's website:

Energy & Commerce Committee
United States House of Representatives
Chairman Fred Upton

http://energycommerce.house.gov/

Here is an elucidation of Upton's position vis-a-vis climate change as of his ascension to the chairmanship:

Fred Upton's Climate Changeup
By Kate Sheppard | Tue Jan. 4, 2011 3:00 AM PST

Does Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) have something to hide when it comes to his position on climate change?

In the past, Upton—the incoming chair of the House energy and commerce committee—has advocated taking action on global warming. "I strongly believe that everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions," he once stated on his website. But that statement recently vanished from his site—along with, it seems, his concern about global warming. Following a tea party-aided Republican takeover of the House and a heated fight for the chairmanship of the powerful committee, Upton's position on climate change has veered closer to those of his global-warming-denying caucus-mates. And he's now vowing to use his new role to thwart efforts to cut emissions.

Late last week, Upton coauthored a Wall Street Journal op-ed with Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that has opposed action on climate change. In it, the pair wrote that a new EPA regulation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, which took effect on Sunday, "presumes that carbon is a problem in need of regulation. We are not convinced." They also decried the carbon rules as "an unconstitutional power grab that will kill millions of jobs."

Phillips' position is not suprising (sic: surprising). Denying climate change is an institutional priority for AFP, which has received millions from fossil fuel interests, including $5 million from the philanthropic arm of the oil and gas giant Koch Industries. AFP has even coordinated a climate change-denying "Hot Air Tour," which made a stop in Cancun last month during the UN climate summit there.

...

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/01/fred-upton-global-warming

Here is a section in which Barton is identified as the "chairman emeritus":

Carol Browner: ‘Stunning’ Climate Denial In The House Prevents Any Action On Climate In Washington

...

Barton is the chairman emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and sits on the Environment and the Economy subcommittee.

...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/12/06/1292171/carol-browner-stunning-climate-denial-in-the-house-prevents-any-action-on-climate-in-washington/?mobile=nc

The GOP will likely not respond to climate change until they themselves cannot avoid its deleterious effects or until their corporate benefactors think that they can make a sufficiently large profit by addressing it.

[LeftInTX]

18. Joe Barton is nothing but a shill for oil and gas

He was the goon at the BP hearing who said he felt sorry for BP and called the investigation a shake down. The other members of the committee threatened to kick him off for his out of line comments.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="

?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Chef Eric]

19. Water is necessary for life too.

He should try breathing that.