Jerry Anderson (R), who is the Senator of Utah, thinks that we should raise the limits on greenhouse gases, not lower them.

Anderson, who was a science teacher at one point, is trying to fight against the regulations on greenhouse gas. He has stated that plants need more carbon dioxide and “think[s] we could double the carbon dioxide and not have any adverse effects.”

Despite the fact that there is a ridiculous amount of information stating that man induced greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide among them, are one of the causes behind global warming and also of harm being done to the planet, Anderson doesn’t think that Utah needs to keep concentrations under 500 parts per million.

He also used dinosaurs as an example of why we could go over 500 parts per million and be “fine”. Yes, dinosaurs. “Concentrations reached 600 parts per million at the time of the dinosaurs and they did quite well,” Anderson said.

Despite how you may feel about global warming, I think we can all agree that using a comparison of dinosaurs and humans as justification for a law — or removal of a law — is a bit ridiculous. This guy was a science teacher how? Better yet, how did he get elected to office? Oh wait, maybe stupidity is a requirement to make it to Capitol Hill.

[via Ars Technica, image via Uwe Hermann’s flickr]