Climate Change Resolution Under Fire
Air Date:02/19/2010
The South Dakota House has passed a resolution that some climate scientists are calling misleading and inaccurate.
The resolution calls for schools in South Dakota to offer balanced teaching on climate change.
The measure asks teachers and university professors to teach science that disputes human caused climate change.
Dr Pat Zimmerman is the former Chair of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Atmospheric Science Department and the founder of a carbon credit assessment company in Rapid City. The resolution brought by Republican State Representative Don Kopp questions the validity of human caused climate change. Zimmerman says the legislation sheds a bad light on South Dakota.
"These misguided grandstanding efforts exposes the level of ignorance of South Dakota to the rest of the world and it's an embarrassment," says Zimmerman
Researchers like Zimmerman say there is a broad scientific consensus that climate change is real and being influenced by humans. Representative Kopp says there is evidence that climate change is naturally occurring. He points to a petition signed by over 30-thousand people with scientific degrees who don't believe in human caused climate change. At least two Tech Professors in Rapid City whose names appear on the petition say they didn't sign it.
The resolution has been passed by the House. It goes next to the Senate.
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