Just last week, we wrote a hopeful missive about a marginal thaw in the chilly stance of many House Republicans towards climate action. Anti-science chair of the House Science Committee Lamar Smith had just visited the Arctic, observing the impacts of climate change firsthand. A large group of Republicans had joined Democrats to vote down an anti-climate amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. For once, we had a sunny outlook.
But on Monday, Smith froze those hopes, writing a piece in the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal extolling the “often ignored and under-researched” benefits of climate change. He specifically cites melting sea ice in the Arctic and resultant shipping lanes as positives. (Whereas one maritime expert says that this possibility "keeps us up at night.”) Clearly, Smith’s Arctic pilgrimage didn’t warm him up to sound climate science.
Smith also parrots other classic denier talking points, from ‘more CO2 is good for plants’ to ‘fossil fuels cure poverty.’ It’s not worth debunking each point, as it has been done many, many times before (including by us).
But it is certainly worth keeping an eye on this fresh type of climate denial coming from Smith. Instead of his usual straightforward attack on science, Smith acknowledges that climate change is happening, but dismisses its dangers and claims we should instead embrace its “benefits.” This type of “soft” climate denial has been spreading through the Trump administration, and manifesting in things like Scott Pruitt’s red team/blue team idea.
While we would hope that Smith is ice-olated in his denial, we know that’s not the cold, hard truth.