Capital Times: CO2 is good for you, and other ALEC talking points

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Wisconsin legislators like Rep. Michelle Litjens, R-Oshkosh, attended the ALEC “Warming Up to Climate Change: The Many Benefits of Increased Atmospheric CO2” workshop, which informed us that plants use carbon dioxide for food, therefore, according to panelist Craig D. Idso, we “should let CO2 rise unrestricted, without government intervention” so CO2 can work its magic.

Idso is founder and former chair of the ExxonMobil-funded Center for Study of Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change, and informed legislators that “CO2 is definitely not a pollutant.” He spoke glowingly of the “CO2-enriched world of the future,” and provided a series of graphs and data that, when viewed in isolation, might appear legitimate.

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At least three “educational” workshops promoted the natural gas extraction process known as “hydrofracking,” a process that has allegedly contaminated groundwater and caused other problems. Scott Angelle, head of Louisiana’s Department of Natural Resources and a darling of the natural gas industry, moderated one panel and gave a convincing pitch that resembled the sales tactics of a snake oil salesman (“What if I told you there was a source of energy that was greener, cleaner, more efficient, more economical, would reduce our dependence on foreign oil ...”), a perception aided by Angelle’s seersucker suit and pink tie.

The panelists were overwhelmingly natural gas industry lobbyists, representing Chesapeake Energy, Encana Natural Gas, Energy Transfer, and QEP Resources (all of which “sponsored” the annual meeting), and who touted fracking’s job-creating benefits and downplayed its negative impact. Legislators were not only bombarded with the message that fracking would be terrific for their state, but also provided talking points to respond to potential opponents.

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