Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) recently downplayed the threat of global warming by arguing that the harmful pollutant carbon dioxide is simply a “natural byproduct of nature.” Following the same logic, Washington Post columnist Robert Samuelson writes:
There’s no evidence man-made CO2, even if it increases temperatures, is harmful. Indeed, some argue that warmer climes would benefit mankind by increasing crop productivity and reducing deaths from severe cold. None of that matters when government is intent on forcing change.
Climate Progress’s Joe Romm notes that the Washington Post op-ed pages also feature the rantings of global warming deniers George Will and Charles Krauthammer, in addition to Samuelson. The Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson writes, “One wonders when their paymasters, Washington Post opinion page editor Fred Hiatt and Writers Group editor Alan Shearer, are going to get embarrassed.”
Update:
Following an inquiry by the Wonk Room’s Brad Johnson, the Orange County Register updated the column’s attribution. The column was not written by Robert J. Samuelson, but was written by the Orange County Register editorial board. In his latest column for the Washington Post, Samuelson did not in fact deny global warming, but instead argued that the “selling of the green economy involves much economic make-believe.” Apologies to Mr. Samuelson.