Montana Legislator Introduces Bill To Declare Global Warming ‘Natural’ And ‘Beneficial’

By Brad Johnson

A bill has been introduced in the Montana state legislature to declare global warming a “natural occurrence and human activity has not accelerated it,” and that it is “beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana.” State Rep. Joe Read (R-MT), a farmer and emergency firefighter who unseated a Democratic incumbent in 2010, introduced HB 549 “to ensure economic development in Montana”:

The legislature finds that to ensure economic development in Montana and the appropriate management of Montana’s natural resources it is necessary to adopt a public policy regarding global warming.

(2) The legislature finds:

(a) global warming is beneficial to the welfare and business climate of Montana;

(b) reasonable amounts of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere have no verifiable impacts on the environment; and

(c) global warming is a natural occurrence and human activity has not accelerated it.

In an exclusive interview with the ThinkProgress Wonk Room, the 55-year-old first-time legislator explained why he filed this bill to outlaw science, which even he admitted was a “radical” act. Read did not consult any climate scientists — including Montana’s own experts, who warn of drought, infestation, wildfires and “large economic impacts” — in the drafting of this bill. Instead he relied on his own experience andunderstanding of the issues at play. He told us:

If you follow the money, the science has been pushed toward where the money is coming from. The money is coming from the federal government.I believe global science is an ideal, not a true science.