Idaho lawmakers told global warming has helped state

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - An attorney with an Illinois-based group that dismisses human-caused climate change told Idaho lawmakers Thursday that the warming that has occurred has had a net benefit for the state.

James Taylor of the Heartland Institute told the House Resources and Conservation Committee that modest warming had increased crop production and has had other benefits.

Republican Reps. Dorothy Moon and John Vander Woude thanked Taylor for what they said was useful information.

Democratic House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel asked Taylor if he had worked with any Idaho scientists who warned that global warming would have extensive and costly ramifications for the state. Taylor said he had not.

In the mainstream scientific community, there is little disagreement that greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil and gas are causing the world to warm in a dangerous manner. More than 90% of the peer-reviewed studies and scientists who write them say climate change is a human-caused problem.