North Carolina: Legislating Away Climate Change

An article published in the N&O yesterday gives some interesting insight into the very strange relationship between NC-20 and scientists who warn about rising sea levels. The NC Division of Emergency Management, who previously released a report that included a calculation of a predicted 1-meter rise in sea level by 2100, has now removed that statistic from the report due to pressure from NC-20, and reduced it to 15 inches.

The legislature, too, is getting involved in the reality denial. A bill has been circulating in the general assembly (but hasn't yet been introduced) that requires that calculations for sea level rise can only be based on historical trends--completely ignoring accelerated rises due to climate change.

Apparently, NC-20's chairman Tom Thompson simply believes climate scientists who say that global warming contributes to sea level rise are just wrong. Why so against science?