IF ONLY IT WERE THIS EASY…. There are competing ideas on how to combat the climate crisis. It never occurred to me to just wish it away through legislation.
A Montana legislator is proposing the state embrace global warming as good for the economy.
Republican Rep. Joe Read of Ronan aims to pass a law that says global warming is a natural occurrence that “is beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana.”
Reaction by scientists and environmentalists to House Bill 549 has been harsh. University of Montana climate change professor Steve Running calls it an indefensible attempt to repeal the laws of physics.
Why didn’t we think of that? Climate change threatens us in a variety of dangerous ways, but instead of addressing the problem, we can have ignorant politicians simply declare that global warming is good for us.
Matt Yglesias added, “This seems like fruitful territory. Imagine what could be achieved by simply passing laws that say tax cuts raise revenue and defense spending doesn’t count as spending.”
Why stop there? I’ll look forward to Republicans declaring cancer illegal and writing legislation making cookies an effective weight-loss tool.
As I’ve heard Neil deGrasse Tyson explain more than once, “The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe in it.”
They’re called the “laws of physics,” but that doesn’t mean lawmakers get to change them.
