Climate deniers

[stpioc]

Another Putin connection..

In mid-May, Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), along with at least eight other members of Congress, traveled to the Arctic to meet with climate scientists and learn about federally-funded research currently underway in the Arctic Circle.

The trip, first reported by Buzzfeed News, raised eyebrows among climate activists, mainly because Smith has long been one of Congress’ most outspoken climate skeptics, often using his position as Chairman of the House Science Committee to stage hearings aimed at undermining the consensus on climate science and discrediting scientists.

To see the impact of climate change firsthand, there is hardly a better place than the Arctic, which has warmed twice as fast as the rest of the planet and seen record-low levels of sea ice in recent years. Climate scientists like Michael Mann greeted news of the trip with optimism, telling Buzzfeed that it “suggests positive engagement.”

Smith, however, appears to have learned all the wrong lessons from his time in the Arctic. This week, he wrote in an op-ed published on the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal blog that “the benefits of a changing climate are often ignored and under-researched,” extolling the potential for climate change to “increase international trade and strengthen the world economy” by opening up new shipping lanes in the melting Arctic. It’s a perspective Smith shares with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has praised climate change for creating new economic opportunities for Russia in the Arctic.

Lamar Smith’s dangerous new climate science denial – ThinkProgress