"Reader, suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
-Mark Twain

If it is so benign he would not mind being placed in a room full of it!

So, put him in a sealed room with no gases in it except for carbon dioxide, and leave him there for 2 hours. When he comes out, his corpse can explain how good the experience was for him, and why excessive amounts of Co2 are harmless. C'mon Bart-ard, Get real.

major industrial sources emitting at least 25,000 metric tons of carbon per year

Then again, how much carbon is emitted by denialists spewing inaccurate or misleading facts about climate change?

The new EPA laws could shut down a huge sector of the wingnut welfare industry.

You would think they would at least require a GED or somthing to become a member of Congress. Mr. Barton seems to have sidestepped the most rudementary education.

Riffing off mat1492, Barton should put a plastic bag over his head and repeat, "You can't regulate God, You can't regulate God," until he sees God laughing.

Hey, how did that vote in CA go? You haven't mentioned it yet.

Actually, I think this should very much be about pointing and laughing at the fool.

Look, let's just put Barton in a room full of CO2, OK?

So, everybody else already said this. OK.

STILL laughing out loud at a TPM bit on Limpballs challenging MSNBC not to mention his name when I came to this piece on Barton and it occurs to me that the old fat fool wouldn't be where HE is if he didn't mention LOONEY LIBERALS every five seconds! On the other hand with so much material out there from him and the wingnuts, what is a media to do?

Yes, point and laugh at the fool. That way you can obstreperously avoid writing about the things that interest me.

If only I hadn't signed a contract stating that I would never visit any other blog, or even site, besides this, I could go elsewhere to find what I'm looking for. But rules are rules, and I'm stuck here.

As a very heavy drinker of Coke, are you sure that the government is not going to regulate me?

If all of my 12 oz. Cokes were CO2 (by weight), I would only need to drink about 200,000 of them a day to meet the 25,000 Metric tons a year discussed.

If you interpretation of this is that I am silly and/or an idiot, does that qualify me to be a Congress-Critter from Texas?

It's not the excessive amounts of CO2 which I spew, that keep people at a distance; it's the halitosis.

Joe Barton

Too bad for Bush that Barton didn't strike upon this sort of defense earlier. He could have argued during Katrina that, H2O is natural and needed for life; Therefore it can't cause a disaster.

Shut down Congress and you won't have to pass any carbon dioxide-reducing laws. And you'll save billions in taxpayers' money.

It's a win-win.

Note his last words to effect that regulating emissions would be like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. Ironically appropriate metaphor if you come to think about it. He's inadvertently saying reducing emissions can't avoid impending disaster. Too late so let's not do anything about steering the globe in another direction (away from the icebergs).

This "CO2 is not a pollutant" line has been around for many years - in fact GWB used it in the 2000 campagin, which was one of the early things that made me realize what an idiot he is.

As anyone who has read past page two in any good book or article on the subject knows, global warming is not a pollution issue. It is an issue of the ratio of greenhouse gasses (especialy CO2) to other gasses in the atmosphere. Anyone who does not grasp this simple fact has clearly made no effort whatsoever to understand the issue - or else has willfully determined to ignore the facts.

It's like telling a flood victim that water is good for you. It is, but only in the right quantities.

Is he under the delusion that Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper aren't toxic chemicals?

Human feces CAN'T be a pollutant! I create gallons of them every day!

Steve Benen wrote: "Now, this isn't just about pointing and laughing at the fool."

No, it's about pointing and laughing at the bought-and-paid-for lying tool.

I believe the proper response to the "It's in your Coke, I'm breathing it right now" type arguments is "But isn't the problem when you have too much of it in the wrong place? Sure, you're breathing it, but if I were to inject just one exhalation into your bloodstream, you'd die in seconds, right?"

Maybe we'd get him to volunteer to demonstrate. It's "natural", right?

Oh God! What is the difference between carbon from plants (sometimes called food sources for life) and carbon from oil, coal and natural gas?

Fossil fuels accumulated over millions of years, whereas most plants are a year to a few tens of years old. So plants and animals simply recycle atmospheric carbon dioxide, whereas fossil fuels add long sequestered carbon into the atmosphere.

If you don't make this point, you are losing the argument. And you pass up the opportunity to really shine a light on the stupidity of pollution lovers.

Okay, okay. You think Barton's an idiot? You obviously missed Dana Rhorabacher on Chris Matthews yesterday. He makes Barton sound like a genius.

Barton is absolutely right when he says CO2 is produced whenever we talk. Liberals know this, and if they really believed in global warming, would shut up to help solve the problem.

I am ashamed to say that Barton's education is not what limits him--he has a degree in mechanical engineering. However, he has for many years been a wholely owned subsidiary of the petroleum-based energy industry.

"No one has ever been admitted to a hospital with C02 poisoning" ?!?!

They can't all have gone straight to the morgue.

I AM Dr. Pepper!

This is the same guy who was convinced that he pwned Sec. Chu because Chu tried to answer his question about how oil is formed and Barton didn't understand it. So consider the source.

But, but...under cap-and-trade, Republican flatulence will cost the party millions.

Barton clearly is unfamiliar with "Love Is Like Oxygen" by Sweet, which deals with the problems that arise when the amount of a necessary element is either above or beneath its recommended level.

I am creating [CO2] as I talk to you...

If only we could find a way to enforce regulations preventing stupid Republicans from creating CO2.

The air in your car is not polluted, either. So the next time it's 100 degrees out, go sit in your car in the direct sun with the windows rolled up. The air isn't polluted, so you won't get cancer - I promise.

To anyone who doesn't get it, the CO2 acts the same way as windows in a greenhouse or a car. When it is too hot, you open the windows. In the case of global warming, you reduce the CO2.

How many metric tons of CO2 do the soft-drink makers put into "circulation" each year? Maybe they SHOULD BE regulated?!

Think about it.

Ed

Just a little seriousness about the theme that CO2 is 'natural' and therefore harmless. Fact is that many people put their lives at risk nightly by going to sleep and having sleep apnea which increases the CO2 in their pulmonary artery. The CO2 degrades into H2O and carbonic acid in the plasma of the blood. The 'acidity' of the blood causes a life-threatening constriction of the pulmonary artery and the person dies. But--they die 'naturally' of a 'harmless' substance that merely built to a very high level where it didn't belong.

ED - the CO2 in soft drinks is taken out of the existing air and recycled. Fossil fuels, as tomj pointed out earlier, have been removed from the environment millions of years ago, and are now being re-introduced when you drive your car or turn on your lights (from coal or oil-driven power plants).

In the Lone Star State, ignorance is still something to be carried with pride.

Even 100% oxygen (and a little pressure) will poison you.

The last few lines caught my attention.

"We think it's futile to try, to try, to regulate....you're just shuffling deck chairs on Titanic."

That sums up the true GOP stance on Global Warming perfectly.

A) It hurts our "economy" (aka corporate constituent profits)
B) It's futile to do anything about it now anyway, we're just rearranging Titanic deck chairs.
C) Conclusion, status quo is the way to go!

With all this talk of making arson illegal, we forget that I create fire every time I light the candles on my child's birthday cake, fire up my charcoal grill or drive my car. Fire is necessary for civilized life. Sure, arsonists set fire to buildings and cause hundreds of deaths and billions of dollars' worth of damage every year. But something the Democrats do not point out, a lot of the fires that occur every year are caused by bolts of lightning. You can't regulate God.

More on CO2 in soft drinks. If you think about it, soft drinks (and beer) actually sequester CO2 in cans during the manufacturing process, thus reducing CO2 in the environment. The effect is only temporary until someone releases the CO2 by opening the can/bottle/keg. But the millions of unopened cans act as a buffer by reducing the overall CO2 in the environment by a slight amount. If soft drink manufacturing was suddenly halted, the stockpile of existing product would eventually be consumed and the buffer would be released.

A similar process is ongoing with the world's oceans. The oceans act as a buffer by absorbing CO2 and regulating a "Goldilocks" climate. But the oceans can only handle so much before it can't absorb the excess capacity and the planet begins to warm.

I always enjoy putting plastic bags on my head and keeping them there until I pass out. It's entirely harmless because everything I'm exhaling is natural, but it sure does make me feel all crazy inside.

My favorite part about this clip:

He talks about climate 'theory' and speaks condescendingly about how its never been proven... and then proceeds to talk about God within the span of a minute.

as someone that believes in a higher power, I ask:
how does this irony not curdle his nose with the stench of his hypocrisy?

We can only survive a few days with out water. Flood control and life jackets are a waste of money.

Gee, I wonder if this would work on RightWingers ?

DOCTOR USES HOUSEHOLD DRILL TO BORE INTO A BOY'S SKULL

Gee, I wonder if this would work on RightWingers ? -Joe Friday

Only if you're looking to recreate Jerry Rivers' anti-climactic opening of Capone's vault or are particularly fond of the sound of air rushing to fill a vacuum.

Wow, I never thought of Barton's point before. You know, lead is natural, therefore kids must never get lead poisoning. Same goes for mercury -- those hatters weren't mad after all! And arsenic, well, let's have lots of it in the water because it's natural! Rat feces? Also natural! This is amazing!

I think he is implying that taking a canary into a coal mine is just a bunch of bollocks, and those miners are a bunch of ignorant alarmists lefty tree huggers!

Yet, the GOP insists, with a dead pan face, it takes science "seriously".

hAhahahahahaa, you GOPers almost had me there for a minute. Such jokesters.

a WSJ item in favor of cap-and-trade:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/an-american-solution-to-global-warming

You'll enjoy the digs at Boehner and Barton.

MatthewRMarler,

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So, we don't regulate God. Would he mind if we regulated humans? Do we really care if he minds?