In case you thought that Crazy Dana Rohrabacher is the only person in Congress who refuses to recognize the reality of climate change, Chris Mooney is ready to dispel that myth at Intersection. Believe it or not, Mr. Earmarks is amazed by how little we know about science. (From Intersection)

“It’s amazing how little we know about the science of our environment and a thing called climate change. Before we automatically throw money into this subject matter we ought to know what we’re talking about. Global warming is apparently a problem, but global cooling can be as well.”

Yes, believe it or not, Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Scandal) actually said that. So why exactly did he say this? And why is anyone taking him seriously? Follow me after the flip for more…

So why did Jerry Lewis start talking about “global cooling” and throwing money into a subject matter that one doesn’t know about? Why did he start talking about an obsolete climatological theory? Why did Jerry Lewis say all that s**t?

Oh yeah, that’s right! He doesn’t want to “throw money” to the NOAA’s climate program! And why should our government actually throw money toward such junk as this?

NOAA’s Climate goal is to: “Understand and describe climate variability and change to enhance society’s ability to plan and respond”.

NOAA’s Climate Goal is an end-to-end endeavor focused on providing decision makers a predictive understanding of the global climate system and to “translate” this information so the public can incorporate the information and products into their decisions. These outcomes are achieved through implementation of a global observing system, focused research to understand key climate processes, improved modeling capabilities, and the development and delivery of climate information services.

Come on now! Who needs more understanding of the global climate system? Who needs more observation of the climate? Who needs predictions and projections? Who needs to understand the consequences of climate change? Who needs understanding of science?

Oh wait, didn’t someone just say this?

“It’s amazing how little we know about the science of our environment and a thing called climate change. Before we automatically throw money into this subject matter we ought to know what we’re talking about.”

Oh yeah, that’s Jerry Lewis! No, not that Jerry Lewis! Wait, do you think he’s looking into a new career in comedy once he leaves that other boring job he’s in now? ; )

Oh, wait! Jerry Lewis wouldn’t be the first Republican Congresscritter to try his hand at comedy? Remember when Think Progress reported on Dana Rohrabacher’s attempt at stand-up back in February?

[…] We don’t know what those other cycles were caused by in the past. Could be dinosaur flatulence, you know, or who knows? We do know the CO2 in the past had its time when it was greater as well. And what happened when the CO2 was greater since then and now? There have been many cycles of up and down warming. So with that said, I think that we’ve had a great discussion today.

I guess it is funny how these Republicans claim that they can’t support taking action on the real scientific problem that’s global climate change because there supposedly isn’t “enough hard science” backing up this “theory”… However when federal agencies like NOAA are doing all the important research and finding the “hard science” that’s backing up this theory, they don’t want to fund the research. It would be so hilarious if it weren’t so real and so dangerous. Climate change is a serious problem, and we’ll face some real, frightening consequences if we don’t act soon. However, these science-doubting Republicans don’t want to take any action on this real global security crisis. And no, they don’t even want to fund any research that would help us find real solutions to this real crisis.

So why again are these science-doubters allowed to say these things in Congress? Shouldn’t our representatives in Washington be working on solutions to our climate crisis? Oh wait, the House now has that select committee on global warming! Apparently, the Democratic majority on Capitol Hill is taking the climate crisis seriously. However, the Republicans would rather continue denying reality. And so long as science-doubting Republicans as Jerry Lewis continue to disregard scientific reality, they are doing a real disservice to their nation and to their communities.

Jerry Lewis obviously knows little about science, and he knows even less about how best to serve his constituents.