Monday, December 14, 2009

Clodwatch for 12/14/2009

Today the award goes to Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), who went a bit too far in his war on the environment and said something totally baffling:
CO2 is odorless, colorless, tasteless – it’s not a threat to human health in terms of being exposed to it. We create it as we talk back and forth.
Yes, the old test for poisonous gases: is it odorless? colorless? tasteless? Then it scientifically cannot be dangerous! Why, human beings create carbon monoxide, like he says. It couldn't possibly be dangerous, right?
Symptoms and signs of [excessive CO2 intake] include flushed skin, full pulse, extrasystoles, muscle twitches, hand flaps, reduced neural activity, and possibly a raised blood pressure... symptomatology progresses to disorientation, panic, hyperventilation, convulsions, unconsciousness, and eventually death.
But... but Barton said exposure doesn't pose a threat to human health! There goes my plan to sit in a small airtight space for a few hours and not die- my weekend is ruined. But that wasn't all Barton had to say:
So, and if you go beyond that, on a net basis, there’s ample evidence that warming generically — however it is caused — is a net benefit to mankind.
So global warming doesn't exist and isn't caused by CO2, which by the way isn't dangerous to people at all, but even if it does exist (regardless of the cause- either human activities or the natural warming of the earth or maybe magic) then it certainly isn't a bad thing and may in fact be good. Ladies and gentlemen, one of the leading Republican authorities on global warming: Joe Barton, clod extraordinaire.

2 comments:

  1. I want to quote your post in my blog. It can?
    And you et an account on Twitter?

    ReplyDelete