2009 Marks 1st Time A Climatologist Will Speak To UT State Leg. On Likely Climate Impacts W/I Utah

When Utah scientist Jim Steenburgh steps up to a legislative witness table this week, he will be the first climatologist ever to testify to state lawmakers about likely climate changes in store for Utah.

But despite the University of Utah professor's landmark appearance, he's not attracting the most attention in advance of Wednesday's hearing: Roy Spencer is. A standout among the world's most prominent climate-change "deniers," the former NASA scientist is the only other climatologist the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee has invited.

Spencer's appearance has some observers wondering whether the political climate has warmed appreciably on Utah's Capitol Hill toward what many regard as the most pressing environmental issue of our time. State Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, and the committee's co-chairman, noted that his panel has a responsibility to track potential cap-and-trade legislation being considered to address climate change. Utah energy consumers, more than most Americans, are likely to feel the legislation's impacts in their energy bills, he said. "This is an important discussion," he said of Wednesday's hearing.

Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, and the other committee co-chairman, did not respond to requests for comment. Noel, an ardent global-warming skeptic, sponsored a resolution in the 2009 Legislature that called on then-Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to withdraw Utah from a regional climate-change pact.

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